A Winter's Heart
by thew40
Summary: [COMPLETE AND REVISED] Sequel to The Return to Eternia, the forces of Eternia and Primus must unite against the might of Horde Prime! But can Teela and Adam's relationship weather the storm? Please R&R!
1. Author's Note

Author's Note

"Days passed. The kingdom grew stronger. Peace marched through Eternia. As the weeks moved into months, the strength of the once-conquered planet began to grow. Winter soon came and offered a chance for renewal.

Snow, a rare thing for Eternia, allowed for a sense of purging and peace. The winter months folded away and spring was on the horizon. The snow melted, giving away for a chance of freshness.

In the hearts of Eternians everyone, joy seemed to resound. Even Adam was regaining faith in the cause he fought for. He and Teela grew ever closer together, bringing love to between the two of them. The kingdom was so taken with this, that when Addison's birthday came around, there was a great celebration held by the people.

He-Man and She-Ra were barely needed during this time. Though Adora hoped to contact the other peoples of Eternia, the Soceress seemed to demand that this be prohibited. For some reason, the other species wanted to remain in hiding in another realm.

Adam, on the other hand, avoided the Soceress altogether. Despite his chance to come to peace with this new revelation, Adam had yet to come to terms with the Soceress and her lies to him over the years. The secrets that Adam learned in the great caverns he shared with no one. No one.

And so, with spring beginning to come upon Eternia, the kingdom of Eternos and its allies prepare for a season of change and renewal. And hope."

This passage, taken from my one of my personal best fanfics, "Masters of the Universe: The Final Adventure" was the inspiration for the story you're about to read. This is the beginning of Chapter Sixteen, where I skip over nearly six months time in as many paragraphs.

It brings out a lot of questions. How did Adam regain his faith in cause he fought for? When were He-Man and She-Ra needed? Where were the races that did not vanish? Was there another threat to Eternia? And if there was, who was it? What happened to the other enemies to Eternia?

In the past year, I've attempted two follow-ups on "The Final Adventure" - those being "The Return of the Count" and "Guardians of the Universe." I admit now, that those were less than great and were good ideas, but didn't seem to work out. And in a way, took away so of the magic of "The Final Adventure" by, well, continuing the adventure. For the one-year anniversary of "The Final Adventure," I knew I had to do something special.

So, I came up with this. "A Winter's Heart," a story that takes place in the time period described above. It would deal heavily with love and hope and trust. It would also allow for a bigger-scale look at the "Masters of the Universe" universe and deal with people and places that I had hoped to deal with in "The Return of the Count" and "GOTU." But they all seem to fit much better here, in this story, than in those two.

Here it is, then, "Masters of the Universe: The Final Adventure - A Winter's Heart." The one-year anniversary story of "The Final Adventure." I hope you all enjoy!

~W~


	2. Previously

Previously . . .

Five years ago, Prince Adam lifted his Sword of Power and became the warrior known as He-Man and left his homeworld Eternia for the stars. Far away, in the Tri-Solar System, a war between two worlds was being fought. It was a hard decision for He-Man, but when he learned that his archenemy Skeletor fled to the Tri-Solar System, the hero had no choice. He left Eternia, becoming He-Man until his return.

But the story didn't end there.

Mere weeks after He-Man's departure, on Eternia's sister world, Etheria, the warlord known as Hordak uncovered a shocking revelation. There were actually FOUR swords of Grayskull, not just the Sword of Power and the Sword of Protection but also the Sword of Darkness and the Sword of Deception. Hordak found the Sword of Deception and cut all ties his superiors on the Horde World.

He then used the Sword of Deception cast the world Etheria into darkness, placing nearly all of its residents in oil that left them in suspended animation. In time, this oil would cause their life-force energies to empower Hordak. The only ones safe from this oil were Princess Adora, who had lost her Sword of Protection; Glimmer, heir to Brightmoon; as well as Castaspella, Bow, and Fluterina of the Great Rebellion. They sought refuge in the Crystal Castle, which was free of the oil, while Hordak set his eye on Eternia . . .

Hordak struck Eternia hard, swiftly taking the Great Towers as his headquarters. The Heroic Warriors were locked away in the Fright Zone (which also remained free of the oil). King Randor and Queen Marlena were trapped on the planet Earth. Many of the races of Eternia, including the Bears, Cats, Dragons, Elves, and Widgets vanished right as the invasion began. The Avions and Insectoids hid within the caverns of the Mystic Mountains, abandoning their kingdoms. Evil Lynn and the Evil Warriors formed a peace pact with Hordak, allowing for a tense peace between Snake Mountain and Hordak's conquered lands. Eternos was devastated, and the kingdoms of Men were taken under Horde rule.

All that remained of the Heroic Warriors was a small resistance team consisting of Teela, Stratos, Clamp Champ, Mekaneck and Detective Lubic. During her time while He-Man was gone, though, Teela teamed with a soldier to plan a strategy. On one drunken night, they came together and the next day, the soldier was killed - not knowing that he had left Teela pregnant. Nine months later, Teela gave birth to a son.

Meanwhile, the war in the Tri-Solar System ended. The leader of the Mutants, Brakk, signed a non-aggression treaty with the Primians. Skeletor faced He-Man one last time before being throw into exile in the depths of space. With this task complete, He-Man longed to return home.

After two long months of travel, He-Man came upon Eternia. When he reached orbit, however, he came under attack by a mysterious craft and he crashed on the banks of the Fertile Plains Continent. He made for Eternos - and was shocked to find it destroyed. He-Man then went to Castle Grayskull, where the fortress remained secure. Together with Gwildor, who had been in hiding, He-Man learned of what happened to Eternia in his absence.

He-Man, becoming Adam once more, joined with the resistance movement and helped them in securing the heavily damaged Eternos. From there, He-Man and Teela went to the Crystal Castle and attacked the Fright Zone, freeing the Heroic Warriors and the Royal Soldiers. The Fright Zone was soon destroyed they all returned to Eternos.

From Eternos, He-Man and She-Ra led an assault against the Great Towers. Hordak was defeated, his control on Eternia lost. With the war over with, He-Man and She-Ra revealed their duel identities to all of Eternia, deciding that the time for deceptions was over. Uniting under Adam and Adora, the remaining peoples of Eternia joined in celebration.

After taking the thrones of Eternos, Adam was one more confronted by Teela, and the two confessed their long-standing deep feelings for each other and decided it was finally time to pursue a relationship with each other.

On Etheria, the being known as Light-Hope put itself into the oil in the hopes of freeing the world.

Still . . . much remained incomplete. He-Man journeyed to Snake Mountain and formed a peace pact with Evil Lynn. It was there he learned that King Hiss and his Snake Men had traveled into a large array of tunnels deep in the heart of Eternia itself. Prince Adam and a small group followed, only to encounter the former leader of the Council of Elders - Eldor.

As Adora searched for the lost races, Adam alone met with Eldor. It was then that Adam learned a deep and disturbing truth about Eternia. Over 1,000 years ago, the Zodak came and gave technology to both the Good and the Evil forces of the world. This technology escalated the conflict between the two forces, leading to the creation of the Great Towers, the Swords, and to the war of the two that had been waging ever since. All for the purpose of learning.

The revelation of this grand manipulation struck Adam even harder when he learned that allies like Rokkon and Stonedar had reported to Zodak the events between Good and Evil on Eternia. And, most of all, the Sorceress knew about this the entire time.

Adam became He-Man and confronted King Hiss after learning this truth. His rage was released on King Hiss and he nearly killed him. She-Ra and the Sorceress aided in holding He-Man back, but it did not matter. He-Man became Adam and left Grayskull in anger.

He kept what he learned in the caverns a secret and found comfort in Teela's arms. That was two months ago and now, as destiny begins to catch up to Eternia, Adam must face a new challenge . . .


	3. Prelude

Prelude

_Four Years Ago . . ._

The cold winds of the Mystic Mountains swirled around Teela's form, causing her to tighten her thick coat. With one hand on her back and the other on her staff, she pulled herself up the top of the mountain and sighed. She wasn't one for scouting missions - at least not now, in this condition - but this one was important. The evil robotic soldiers known as Horde Troopers had been spotted in this area and it could spell trouble for the Avions and the Insectoids.

"Teela," came a soft, yet stern voice. She turned around and saw Stratos landing behind her. "I am glad I found you."

She smiled. "Oh? Why's that?"

"I just completed an ariel search and have found nothing. It seems that those rumors were only just."

Teela sighed and sat down on a nearby rock. "Thank the Ancients," she replied. "My feet are killing me."

"I should get you back to the cavern. It is the best place for you, I think."

"My best place right now," she grunted as she stood up, "is to be fighting the enemy."

"Teela, you must rest and prepare yourself. It is almost time and - "

The young woman shook her head with resignation. "I know, I know. Everyone's been telling me that. It's just . . . I guess I'm not looking forward to the next step in this process."

Stratos walked over to the former Captain of the Royal Guard and placed a gentle hand on the protrusion at Teela's midsection. "If motherhood will be your greatest challenge, Teela, then you must think of it as you would an up-coming battle. You must be prepared."

Teela nodded. "I suppose you're right. Come on, Stratos, like you said - we better get back to the cavern. Clamp Champ is supposed to be meet us at the prearranged coordinates." She smirked. "Care to give a pregnant girl a lift?"

Stratos smiled. "Of course."

He lifted her up, then, and took to the skies.

* * *

Two days later, Teela and Stratos arrived at the cavern with Clamp Champ and Mekaneck. For the three of them, it would only be a quick stop before some scouting missions on the Golden Isles. Hordak's forces were meeting with some resistance there and it would be a perfect chance to turn that into another rebellion - one to add to the one they already had going here. 

Teela threw off her coat, her belly visible through a break in the fabric of her uniform. She had long given up trying to hide it and quickly decided it was a symbol. For the seventy people that have taken shelter here, it was a symbol of strength and empowerment. That Teela was out there, fighting for her unborn child, and she should be blessed for it.

But Teela saw it differently. To her it was less empowering as it was shameful. Not because she was unwed. No, it was because the father had been a man she did not love. The father of this child was someone that Teela worked with, then slept with on the rebound. She didn't love him, the father, but it didn't seem to matter - he was dead anyways.

Thoughts of doubt and realization flowed through Teela's mind. He died for her, never knowing that that one drunken night resulted in her pregnancy with his child. It stung at her, harshly. She didn't love that soldier . . .

She loved He-Man. She loved Adam. Both of them shared her heart, her love.

But Teela pulled away from that. Adam and He-Man were gone, off on Primus fighting Skeletor and Mutants. She was here, knocked up, and fighting a losing war against Hordak and his minions. The men she loved were gone. She had to carry on.

So far, though, the only carrying on she had done was the current condition she was in. But despite the lack of genuine feelings for the father, Teela loved his child. It was a part of her, physically, emotionally and spiritually. While Teela didn't love the father, she admired, respected and really liked him. He was a good soldier, a nice guy, and good looking.

"Adam could have been your father," Teela said suddenly, rubbing her womb as the baby kicked. A funny thought struck her then. Adam really could have been the baby's father. She always saw things with she and Adam like that. Her little teenage crush never did leave her, always settling in the back of her mind and heart.

But the He-Man feelings were different. With He-Man, it was more romantic. Hopping onto Battle-Cat with him, pressing against him, and riding into the sunset together.

Teela loved and missed them both, though. Oddly enough, it seemed it wasn't just as missing two people. It was like she was missing both at the same time. All the time. She never seemed to miss Adam more than He-Man and never missed He-Man more than she did Adam.

Teela smirked to herself, then blew off a stray strand of hair from her face. Placing her hands on her back, Teela waddled towards a chair and sat down. Her feet were still aching from the scouting mission. Being eight and a half months pregnant and being a warrior at the same time was hard to do.

She worried about motherhood, feeling doubts creep up all around her. War was harsh, and raising a child during such was going to be near-impossible.

Especially since -

"OH!" Teela gasped, throwing her hand to her belly.

His super-senses alerting him to Teela's gasp, Clamp Champ rushed in. He placed a dark hand on her back and helped her stand up. "Teela! Are you alright?!"

Teela attempted to push herself out of the chair. "My . . . my water just broke . . ."

* * *

After fourteen hours of terrible and excruciating labor - Addison, son of Teela was born. 

The baby slept softly next to her, and Teela felt like crying in joy and happiness every time she saw the baby's peaceful face. As Teela stroked the cheek of her newborn, she felt compelled to do something. Wrapping the baby up in a few blankets, the new mother went outside.

Under the bright moons and never-ending seas of stars, Teela sat there and held her child in her arms. Her eyes gazed out upon the millions upon millions of stars, and wondered which was one held her two loves.

Someone - her father? - had told Teela that Primus couldn't be seen from Eternia or Etheria. But whatever the case, Teela still found herself looking for both He-Man and Adam. She longed for them, to tell them the new joy in her life.

"I'd like you to meet my son," she whispered, wishing they could hear her from across the many light-years. "I would like you to meet him. I would like to see you again. I have so much to tell you . . . both of you . . . like that I love you."


	4. Chapter One: Prevention

Chapter One: Prevention

_Present Day . . ._

The snow hit hard against his face, causing his eyes to squint harshly against the cold. King Adam held his sword in his hand, and thought hard about saying those words. Those magic, incredible words that would allow him to become the strongest man in the universe. His lips parted as if by instinct, tongue readied to speak.

But he brought his lips to a close. A sudden doubt struck his mind and King Adam remained silent. The sudden doubt has not been the first to strike him since that day beneath the Sands of Time. Since Adam learned that He-Man was nothing more than the result of a grand manipulation by the Zodak. The doubt stung him hard, and it felt like something inside Adam had died. He was practically forced to become He-Man after that, but - much to everyone's surprise - Adam had not become He-Man since then.

And even now, about face great danger and battle, Adam has chosen not to speak the words of Grayskull.

Instead, he takes the role of his father. He speaks not the words of transformation, but of authority.

"Lodar! Icer! Batros!" Adam shouted out from the front lines. "By the authority placed in my by the line of succession, I hereby order you on the behalf of Eternos - TO STAND DOWN!"

Adam stood in shadow of the shattered city of Eternos and the Royal Palace. The Royal Guard, Captained by Teela, stood by him. Before them were the combined forces of Icer, Batros and Lodar. With these three villains were a number of Kobloids and Bat-People, in service of Batros and Lodar.

"We were succumbed to one empire, to which you defeated!" Icer replied, his blue skin causing him to stand out from the others. "We have our independence from the Horde and we won't trade that in to you!"

"You will be crushed beneath our heels, allowing for a new age of Eternian rule!" Lodar yelled, shaking his staff in the air. His violet armor was that of a warrior, but it looked tarnished and old.

"We've stood around too long and let you beat us back too many times!" shouted Batros, still wearing his old Horde uniform. The Bat-People had given him sovereignty after the First Horde War ended and Batros soon became their ruler.

"A new age of Eternian rule?" questioned Adam. "Really? And just what does this 'new age' promise to bring? Winter year-round? The skies filled with Bats? Slavery? Tell me, how long until the three of you start turning on yourselves?"

"Bold move," whispered Teela.

"It worked once or twice on Primus," Adam whispered back.

"Our alliance in none of your concern!" shouted Lodar.

"It isn't? Really? Well, let me tell you what my concerns are, Lodar. Right now, my concerns are that of Eternia. This planet is recovering from one of the most devastating wars ever to occur. Entire races and peoples are missing. Right now, it's just you people, the Avions the Mer-Men, the Insectiods, and us. Cities and villages have fallen and soldiers are buried.

"My concern is to make sure that this NEVER happens again. And that starts now. We could both throw our armies at each other, watch them battle it out for a few hours, see people get killed, and then both go back to our respective homes and plan for the next time. OR - we could just sit down and figure out a new way of doing things. A way that doesn't include death and destruction. A peace treaty."

Batros grumbled. "You would never honor a peace treaty!"

"Ask Evil Lynn about that, Batros. I offered her one two months ago and it's remained intact since then. This isn't a 'let's beat each other up' world anymore. I'm not going to let it be. If you want to fight though, I'm sure my men are up to it. But let me tell ask you this - are you really up to it?"

Batros flinched and turned to Icer, who himself was looking doubtful. Lodar's staff was down and he turned to the pair. They started talking.

Adam himself looked to Teela. "I hope this works."

When he turned back to the trio and their armies, they were just finishing up their group discussion.

"How can we discuss this so-called treaty?"

Adam smiled. "Next week, there is to be a meeting with the other kingdoms, villages and the remaining races. We're going to decide the specifications then on an expanded treaty. You are more than welcome to join in on this meeting."

"How can we trust your word?" asked Icer.

"Tell you what," Adam promised, stepping forward, "show up, bring some guards. We'll all lay out a treaty. If you don't like the treaty, then you can send your army after us. How's that?"

Lodar, Icer and Batros all turned to each other and talked a little more. Adam fingered the blade of his Power Sword, somewhat happy that he didn't have to say 'By the power of Grayskull . . .'

A sort of tension filled the cold, snowy air as they made a final decision. Adam concentrated on the matter at hand and watched the trio discuss hard the ramifications of Adam's proposal. After a little while, the three of them turned to King Adam.

"What day next week?"

King Adam smiled.

* * *

By the time She-Ra arrived at Darksmoke, news of the Batros, Icer, and Lodar's attempted war had just reached her. Luckily, the most recent report from Man-At-Arms on her communicator was that the situation had been diffused.

"Well, looks like another war avoided," she said to Swift-Wind.

"Sure looks like it, She-Ra," Swift-Wind replied, the pegacorn setting down on the mountain. The two had been traveling for hours upon hours, hoping to reach the stronghold of Granamyr. Upon finally reaching the kingdom of Dragons and Trolls, She-Ra quickly realized just how much a futile mission this was. Entire structures had been left laying wide open and abandoned.

Including, She-Ra observed, Granamyr's home.

Hopping off of Swift-Wind, She-Ra walked towards the large doors and pushed them open with ease. Not locked. She was surprised. From all the stories Adam's told her, she would have expected Granamyr to lock the doors before . . . well, vanishing.

As she walked along the empty corridors, She-Ra felt the emptiness of her footfalls resonating throughout the mighty stone structure. This place had long since been abandoned, making it apparent that Granamyr and his people - his fellow Dragons and the Trolls of Darksmoke - left it right as the Horde was arriving on Eternia for their second invasion.

Which was, of course, right after Etheria fell.

Logically, it would seem that the other races - Widgets, Cat-People, Bears, and Elves - had all left at the same the Dragons and Trolls did. But where to? And why?

Ah, now those were the lucky questions. The why seemed fairly obvious - to flee the Horde invasion, but there could have been more to it than just that. Because, if that was the case, then why leave the Avions, Insectoids and Humans? Not to mention, apparently, the Bats, Kobloids, Goblins, and Mer-Men? Now, that . . . that didn't make any sense to She-Ra.

The where was a lot trickier. The easiest answer would be to another planet, or to another dimension. But according the confiscated sensor logs left by the Horde after their recent defeat, there was no indication of a ship leaving the planet or a massive dimensional portal.

And Shadow Weaver would keep up on these sorts of things.

The only clue that She-Ra could gather was that the Sorceress was somehow involved. Teela had said that after He-Man left, the Sorceress just remained in Grayskull and didn't come to the aide of Eternia as it was battered and beaten by Hordak and the Horde. Plus, she had indicated that she knew what was happening, but was not willing to give up any more information.

"Empty," said She-Ra to herself. After walking the entire length of the fortress, she had finally reached the throne room of Granamyr. All of the treasures and trophies were gone, just as Granamyr himself was.

With her search finished, She-Ra walked out to join Swift-Wind. The moons were rising of the horizon and She-Ra felt suddenly quite weary. Looking at Swift-Wind, she could tell the same thing.

"Let's get some rest," she recommended.

"Okay. Fine by me."

The pegacorn laid down onto his legs, wings folding up behind him. She-Ra pulled off her cape and lain it on the ground, then laid down onto it. As she and Swift-Wind laid underneath the stars, she looked to her old friend.

"I missed you, Swift-Wind."

Swift-Wind shook his head. "And I, you, She-Ra."

"Do you think Etheria will be free?"

"I hope so," Swift-Wind answered. "I want to see my mate and child again."

She-Ra nodded, suddenly remembering that Swift-Wind had had a child on Unicorn Island. "I promise you, you will."

And then the pair fell asleep beneath the twinkling lights of the heavens above.

* * *

Far beyond the Eternian/Etherian solar system, near the edge of the galaxy - a lone ship sends out sensor beams, touching the twin planets. An office turns to his leader, and bowed.

"Just as expected, sir. Hordak has sealed all Etheria up with his energy oil, but we are reading some life-signs. They're in status."

"Light-Hope?" came a voice like thunder and stone scratching against marble. "What of Light-Hope?"

"Sensor read-outs indicate that Light-Hope has merged itself with the oil in an attempt to free Etheria."

"Will it work?" said the voice.

"Given enough time, yes."

"What of Eternia?"

"Scans report that Hordak has been taken into custody."

The voice fell silent. For long moments, the officer waited for a response. Finally, after tense minutes, the voice spoke again. "Our opposition?"

"They're closer to Eternia than we are. We approximate nearly one week of them."

"And our forces?"

"Ten days at the earliest."

The voice fell silent once more. When it spoke, there was a tone of anxiousness. "They shall fall . . . won't they? They shall fall . . ."

The officer nodded. "Of course, my master. They will all fall to you, Horde Prime."


	5. Chapter Two: Meetings and Partings

Chapter Two: "Meetings and Partings"

* * *

Passing over the Fertile Plains, Stratos could feel the tips of feathers grow cold. He shook his wings a bit, getting the blood flowing into them, then pumped to keep them moving. "I hate the cold," he said straight-forwardly.

To his left, Buzz-Off grinned. "No kidding? Only a few months of it, Stratos, and then it'll be spring again."

Stratos gruffed. "Only a few months . . . at least you have the warmth of the Hives of Insectia."

"Warm in the winter, cold in the summer. You should consider moving in with us."

"No, I believe our peoples have spent enough time living together in the deepest caverns of the Mystic Mountains."

Buzz-Off nodded. "Yes . . . and thank you for that. If I were in your place, I'm not sure if I would taken charge of your people as well as my own. Thank you."

"Yes, well, I'm sure you would have."

The pair neared Eternos now and dove from the clouds, towards the Palace. Snowflakes swirled around them as the details of Eternos became clearer. Still recovering from the Second Horde War, Eternos was swiftly being rebuilt. Avions and Insectoids had agreed to help in the reconstruction, granted that Eternos aid in the restoration of their homes.

It was an easy treaty, one that was going to be expanded on during this conference. Stratos could see the different banners from the kingdoms gathering at the Palace gates: Moriana, Arcadia, Lizardia, Tree-People, Cave-People, Fantus, Aquatica, Morigor, Ice Kingdom, the Golden Isles, Tahrin, Ahberron, and both North and West Eternos.

Stratos reminded himself that Stephan and Johanna had arrived a little earlier than the others, hoping to spend some 'family time' with their nephew and niece - Adam and Adora.

Both Stratos and Buzz-Off landed, and were immediately greeted by Teela. "Welcome back, gentlemen," she opened with a smile.

From behind her, Addison peeked out and smiled. "Hi Unca' Stratos."

Stratos smiled and walked over to the child. He lifted him up. "Greetings young Addison! How are you today?"

"Good," the four-year-old answered. "I went to school today!"

"Really?! And what did you learn?"

"I learned that you're a Avon!"

Stratos laughed. "That's an Avion, young man. But you're close enough."

Teela took him. "He was so excited. He wanted to tell you in person," she said, holding her son. "He misses your bedtime stories."

"Well, I'm scheduled to remain here for a few days. Maybe I'll have the chance tonight. Would you like that, Addison?"

"Yeah, Unca' Stratos."

Stratos rubbed the boy's hair. "I'll see you then."

"Well," started Teela, "they'll be meeting in about an hour. I'd love to stay and chat, but it's somebody's nap - "

Addison pouted. "No nap."

"- and it looks like I'll have my hands full. I'll see you after the meetings. Bye, Stratos, Buzz-Off."

"Teela, Addison."

Buzz-Off nodded. As she carried Addison off into another part of the Palace, the Insectiod turned to Stratos. "It's so weird."

"Oh?"

"Seeing Teela with a child. It's just so . . . odd."

"Change is a constant in our lives, Buzz-Off."

"You can say that again."

The pair walked towards a large set of stairs that led to the meeting tower. It was the highest tower in all of Eternos, and was used many years ago for meetings between peoples. Out of the entire Palace and city, it was the least damaged during Hordak's attacks.

At the top of this tower was large, round meeting table. There were no walls to the meeting room, only glass windows so as to view beyond Eternos to the horizon of Eternia. Adam sat at this table, looking over a few notes and papers. When Buzz-Off and Stratos arrived, Adam looked up with surprise.

"Buzz-Off! Stratos! Good to see you. You're a bit early, but that's all right. Please, have a seat. The others should be coming at any moment," Adam said, seeming a bit tense. "Would you like anything to drink?"

"No, thank you," Buzz-Off answered, sitting down at his designated chair.

"You seem stressed, King Adam," Stratos observed.

Adam smiled at his two old friends. "I am stressed, yes. More nervous than anything else, though. I'm concerned about the meeting. A lot of old enemies are going to be sitting down here. It's not something that's going to be easy to swallow - on both sides."

"You're also going to have a lot of old friends here, Adam," Buzz-Off assured him. "Don't worry about it too much. Things will be fine."

Adam nodded and leaned back in his chair, surprised at just how much those words actually affected him.

* * *

Adora walked along the corridors of the Eternos Prison, and eyed the occupants of the cells. The Snake Men and the Horde Elite were all kept under lock and key, of course, but she wanted to know. What did they know about the disappearance of the other races? They were here - on Eternia - when it happened. If any of the them, it could HELP her quest

Bow stood at the end of the corridor, his good eye looking carefully at his enemies in the cells. "Bow," addressed Adora. "Did you ask them? Are any of them willing to talk?"

He shook his head. "No. None of them. Most of all, him." Bow pointed to Grizzlor. This didn't surprise Adora. It was Grizzlor who had taken Bow's eye. "Of course, I can't say that I've really taken it upon myself to be completely civil with him."

She rested a hand on Bow's shoulder. "Take it easy, old friend. I've got to get to the meeting. Why don't you get someone else to handle the rest of your shift?"

Bow nodded and Adora left him with a frown. As she exited the prison, a welling amount of sorrow filled her stomach. Here she was on Eternia, working to bring order to chaos - when her own world was transformed into a wasteland. Light-Hope's power was working hard and freeing it, of course, but at what cost?

Adora had kept herself busy while here on Eternia, in the vain hope of not thinking about Etheria. In her own way, Adora was trying to help Eternia and therefore feel better about not being able to help Etheria. That was why the growing obsession about finding the lost peoples of Eternia was so important to her.

Entering into the Palace, she was soon joined by King Stephan of West Eternos and Queen Johanna of North Eternos. Adora had the chance to be with her aunt and uncle earlier in the day before heading to the prison. Both had been held in their respective castles when Hordak attack. Unlike their brother - and Adora's father, Randor - and his wife, they were trapped on Eternia and had no chance to escape.

"Any luck asking the prisoners?" asked Johanna.

"None," answered Adora. "Not yet, at least."

Stephan gruffed. "Not surprising, really. Like they would divulge ANY secrets."

"You never known, uncle. Maybe I can beat it out of them."

With that, the entered the meeting room. Adam smiled and waved his arms out. "Excellent, you've arrived," he greeted. The table was filled with the other representatives - including Icer, Lodar and Batros.

"Now, if you'll take your seats, we'll get started . . ."

* * *

"Damn stupid robots and their damn stupid tech," muttered Duncan as he walked along the lab in the Central Tower. Despite keeping their database, all other Horde technology was being ripped out of the lab by Duncan. For all the evil it did - it had no place in the presence of good.

Careful of his injured leg, Duncan bent down and crawled beneath a computer junction. As he started to work at disconnecting it, a loud alarm began to go off.

Duncan snarled and pulled himself out from the junction. Reaching for his cane, he hoisted himself up and limped over to the location of the alarm - an interstellar detection array. It was a new invention, installed by Horde technicians. It was next on the list to be removed, although Adam was reluctant about it.

His fingers pressed against the keys, and he silenced the alarm. "I wonder what set that off," he wondered aloud and immediately went to answering that question. On the screen before him, a map of their solar system appeared - and revealed something at it's boarders, heading towards Eternia.

Duncan recognized this 'something' and made for the door. Adam needed to be notified at once.

* * *

"You MUST be joking, Hordak!" laughed King Hiss. "A attack force against Darksmoke?! Ha! You can't even get a scouting party up there without Granamyr burning you to a crisp."

Hordak snorted. "Hiss, you have no idea what this war was about," the former Horde leader replied. "The First Horde War a moral one. Assaulting Darksmoke was a symbol that the Horde feared nothing."

"Bah! It's foolish!" King Hiss snapped. He wheeled closer to the glass of his cell. "No, the way to take down Darksmoke is to take the surrounding kingdoms and consolidate power through all the other conquered regions. That way, he'll have no choice but to attack - but with such a firm hold on the rest of Eternia, Granamyr will fall."

Since their capture, King Hiss and Hordak were stuck debating war tactics while sitting across from each other. Their prison was located underneath a mountain about a mile from Eternos. Their cells were set parallel from each other, separated by eight feet. Three sides of their cells were pure, thick metal and the sides facing each other were glass (with option blast doors). To keep from accessing their powers, a device not unlike Skeletor's old magic stealer was placed beneath the floor, siphoning it from them.

Hordak prepped his counter-argument, but a sudden sharp pain seared his brain. Hiss smiled, knowing what it was.

"So, it's true then," Hiss whispered.

"Silence, Hiss!" snapped Hordak, his good hand on his forehead.

"He's coming back . . . the big bad brother is coming to Eternia . . ."

"I SAID SILENCE!"

As King Hiss began to cackle and laugh, Hordak spun around slammed his fist against the door-shut panel. A thick metal door slid over the glass, hiding him from King Hiss's view. But it didn't matter, the laughter was still heard.

* * *

"No," Adam stated as straightforward as possible. "We will allow you, Lodar and the Kobloids to return to your city - but the anti-slavery laws will remain in place."

Lodar slammed his fist onto the table. "You have no right - "

"He has every right," Princess Rana of Targa spoke.

"Our kingdom was twice besieged by slavery - once by the Kobloids, then again by Ahberron," her sister Raya pointed out.

"I stand by King Adam," Batros said then.

"You - ?!" gagged Lodar.

"Yes," Batros sneered. "Tell me, Lodar, what's to stop you from coming into my kingdom and enslaving my people? I agree with King Adam on this subject."

"Lodar, either you abide by these rules or there will be war," Adam told the Kobloids. "We'll be doing monthly inspections to make sure you're following these laws."

Lodar didn't answer, but Adam was certain he had Lodar's answer pegged. The Kobloid had no choice in the matter, really, and was tired of herding his people through underground caves.

"Okay, next up on the agenda - "

Just then, there was a sudden knock at the door. Adam excused himself and opened it. Man-At-Arms stood there, looking like he was about un-load some serious news on the newly-appointed king.

"Just one moment," Adam said to the representatives. He stepped into the stairwell and shut the door behind him. "What is it, Duncan?"

"My apologies, but there's been . . . an interesting development."

"What?"

"Horde sensors have detected something at the edge of the solar system, passing by Phantos as we speak and heading to Eternia."

Adam's eyes grew wide, and his heart skipped a beat. "Can you identify what it is?"

"Ships. It's hard to get an estimate, but it appears to be a large convoy," Man-At-Arms answered. "Whoever they are, though, they began transmitting an encrypted message to Eternos. I've never seen it before, but I'm guessing you have."

Man-At-Arms handed over a computer pad. Adam looked over its contents and nodded in shock. He looked back at Man-At-Arms. "This changes everything," he said.

"I figured as much. Then it's who we think it is?"

"Yes," Adam answered. "Primus."


	6. Chapter Three: Unintended Reunions

Chapter Three: "Unintended Reunions"

* * *

From the twilight sky, it appeared. It soared through the purple, orange, and red colored clouds and made for Eternos. Adam watched with anxiety as the Starship Colossus set out for the landing pad. A wisp of snow drifted away as the ship came to a landing.

What would bring them here? Why now? This was the worst of times. With such a vital treaty almost literally on the table, and with so many different kingdoms in chaos - well, this was just fuel to the fire. Immediately, Adam pushed thoughts of a friendly stopover out of his mind. With a Primian convoy sitting in orbit, this was far from "Hey-How-ya-been?" trip.

The door opened on the Starship Eternia and Adam straightened himself. The people of Primus were aware of his duel identity, seeing it the few times He-Man was able to become Adam.

"Adam!" shouted Hydron, stepping out of the starship. "Good to see you again!"

Adam smiled genuinely. As much as a pain as this was, it was good to his old friends once more. Hydron grasped Adam's hand and shook.

"You too, Hydron. And it's King Adam now."

Hydron nodded and smiled. "Promoted, huh? Me too."

"It's only a temporary promotion. High Commander?"

"That's right."

A second figure emerged from the Starship Eternia. Flipshot waved at Adam. "King?" he asked, shaking Adam's hand. "Congrats. I'm a Commander now."

"That's good to hear," Adam replied. "I have to admit, though, as good as it is to see you again, you sure picked one of helluva time to stop by. We're in the middle conducting a very intensive peace treaty between some of the kingdoms on Eternia."

Hydron nodded. "Our apologies, but I'm afraid this couldn't be held off any longer."

Flipshot removed his silver helmet. "A lot has happened in the past few months. Things you wouldn't believe."

"Considering everything I've just been through, I could believe anything. Come on in."

The trio walked into a nearby entrance, where Hydron and Flipshot came face-to-face with three of Adam's allies.

"This Duncan, the Man-At-Arms. His daughter Teela, the Captain of the Royal Guard. And my sister Adora, temporary queen of Eternia. Duncan, Teela, Adora - this is Hydron and Flipshot of Primus."

Flipshot gazed at Adora as her beautiful blond hair bounced around her soft face. "Milady," Flipshot greeted. He reached for her hand, held it up and kissed it. "The pictures He-Man showed us did nothing to tell of your beauty and grace."

Adora blushed a bit, smiled, and rolled her eyes.

"Flipshot . . . knock it off," Hydron scolded. "You'll have to forgive him. Ever since the war ended, he's been after every girl on Primus. You'd think he would know better."

"Yeah, no kidding," Adam said, smiling. "Come, Flipshot, didn't you get enough that when you were a woman?"

The others laughed a bit, but obviously didn't get the full joke. Hydron pulled off his clear helmet at this point. "We do have a lot to talk about, Adam. Is there someplace we can sit?"

Adam nodded. "Yeah. The parlor room. Would you like something to eat?"

"Yes. We've been eating rations during the entire trip."

A few minutes later, the six of them settled down in the parlor room. It was a smaller room made up of mostly couches and chairs, all centered around a large fireplace. Everyone had settled into a seat, and snacked on tea, coffee and muffins from Chef Allan's nicely restored kitchen.

"So . . . what can you tell us? What's changed so much?" asked Adam at last.

Hydron took a sip of his coffee. "A few days after you left, a new enemy emerged. Remember how you couldn't make a straight shot home because of the blocked off area of space? Well, the Horde warlord there – his name being Calyx – was pushed out of the area. The Horde fleet under his command came to the Tri-Solar System."

Adam set down his tea. "What . . .?"

"Yeah, not pleasant," Flipshot said.

Adora glanced at the others. They all knew the Horde's treachery well. This was a shock, but not very surprising.

"How many casualties?" asked Adam.

Flipshot smiled. "None."

"What!? You're joking," Adora gasped.

"Nope," Flipshot answered. "With Meriac in control of Denebria, they were able to gather their forces and we entered into an alliance. The Gleanons and the Mites came aboard too."

"For the first time in recorded history, the planets of the Tri-Solar System joined together against a common foe," Hydron told with pride. "Mutants, Primians, Gleanons, and Mites - a momentous day. We had the Horde beat back in under three weeks!"

Adora nearly choked on her muffin. "Three weeks!?"

"Impossible!"

"We were pretty proud of ourselves, but that's when we learned that there was much more going on here," Hydron continued. "The Horde had been experiencing unrest, as you know. The fleet that was sent against us was one gone rogue and was without Horde resources and reinforcements."

"A number of Admirals have gone rogue, breaking off from the Horde."

Flipshot nodded. "With these breaks, a lot of Horde-controlled planets have been freed. One of them, you are quite familiar with."

The four Eternians looked at each other. "What planet?"

"Trolla."

"It came under Horde control over two years ago."

Adam let out a sigh of frustration and looked to Duncan. "Orko's not going to be happy about this," Duncan said plainly.

"Getting back to the matter, the Horde World has been overthrown, Horde agents and Admirals have gone rogue, Horde-dominated worlds are suddenly free, and now . . . Horde Prime is heading here."

"Why?" asked Adam.  
"That's where our information gets sketchy. There was something mentioned about the 'ultimate power,' but we're not sure on that one," Flipshot admitted.

"On Eternia, the 'ultimate power' could be a lot of things. Grayskull, the Great Towers, even the heart of Eternia itself . . ."

"We don't know a lot about sorcery," Hydron said up-front. "But we do know technology. Horde Prime will be here in four days, and our reinforcements will be here in three."

"His armada is big, but we have confidence we can defeat them. We need the help of Eternia, though," Flipshot said.

"You have Eternos, of course," Adam said. "I'll meet with the others tomorrow and see what they have to say. In the meantime, land your convoys and we'll do what we can to help you out on the ground."

"There will be victory here," Hydron stated with strong confidence.

Adam nodded. "I hope so."

* * *

A little later, after Hydron and Flipshot were given guest rooms for the night, Adam trailed Teela up to her room. Mekaneck's son, Phillip, was given his payment for babysitting Addison and sent on his way. Phillip had formed a strong bond with Addison, mainly because during the Second Horde War, Phillip baby-sat Addison while Teela was gone.

After checking up on Addison, Teela had a seat on her couch. Her room was a small suite, complete with mini-kitchen, two large bedrooms and a living/dining area. Not many others living at the Palace had this sort of luxury - but it was Adam who made sure that she and her son were both comfortable.

"So what do you think?" he asked, sitting next to her.

"Of what? The situation or your friends?"

"Both."

"Well, the situation is dangerous, but I'm pretty confident in our resources. As for your buddies . . . well, they are quite odd."

"Alien worlds, dear," Adam replied. Teela leaned against him and Adam wrapped his arms around her body.

"True, but if you're saying that all aliens are odd, then that includes Orko. And you, I might add, as well as Adora."

Adam just smiled and kissed her forehead. "I come in peace," he joked.

Teela perked an eyebrow, leaned in and kissed him. It was warm and passionate as the kiss grew. She broke only to whisper into his ear: "I don't."

Adam smiled and they kissed again . . .

* * *

Just after dawn, Adora tugged on her coat and made up the trail. She was reminded of all the hidden sensors that laid all across the mountain, now scanning her as she walked towards the prison. At the top of the mountain was a large metal dome with a tall guard tower at the side. Four guards stood outside the main entrance. When she reached the doorway, the guards stopped her.

"Hand out, milady," said the one guard.

Adora held out her hand and the guard placed it inside a cube. The cube lit up green and the guard nodded.

"Thank you, milady," the guard replied, then pressed cube up to the door. A panel lit up green and the door opened. Adora walked in and nodded at the ten guards that stood around the room. In the center was a large elevator, there stood two more guards.

This entire facility held twenty-two soldiers, all to guard King Hiss and Hordak who sat far beneath the mountain in their specially designed cells. As the elevator took her down, Adora could hear the seals and clamps unlocking to let them down there.

After five minutes, the elevator came to a halting stop. The door opened and there sat the door cells that belonged to King Hiss and Hordak, both opposite of each other.

"Well well well . . . if it isssssn't the princessss," King Hiss said, grinning. Adora ignored him and peered at Hordak, who seemed to be ignoring them both. "Horde Prime's coming," King Hiss teased. "Hordak knows it."

"Silence your tongue, snake," snarled Adora. She pressed the 'DOOR CLOSE' button next to his cell and the large metal door slammed over the glass. "Hordak. Talk to me."

"Why?" hissed Hordak. "Why should I even bother to acknowledge you?"

"Hordak, I need information. Badly."

Hordak snorted. "You need . . . heh heh heh . . . you NEED! What about me Adora?! What about me!?! YOU BETRAYED ME!"

Adora stepped up to him. "You've murdered thousands. You invaded a planet, then imprisoned them to steal their life forces, and . . ." She stopped herself. "Hordak, I don't want to do this. I don't. I just need information. I don't want to do this."

"Then don't! DON'T!" he shouted. "I'm finished with you anyways!"

"Well I'm not finished with you," she said strongly. "Hordak, the peoples of Eternia. Where are they? Horde Prime is coming and we need all the man-power we can muster."

"Gone. Gone gone gone gone gone gone. They were like that when I got here," Hordak replied.

Adora eyed him carefully. His mind had been deluded when he received the Sword of Deception, and it seemed that in the two months it had been parted from him, there had been little recovery. It was in that moment Adora felt a swell of pity for Hordak. Despite the destruction and death he had caused, he was once brilliant and strong. Now . . . his mind was unhinged and his grip on reality seemed to loosen.

"Gone? Completely?"

"YES! YES YES YES YES YES YES! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

His laughing echoed throughout the cell and Adora backed away. Hordak didn't know, but she realized then that even if he did know - his lack of sanity was probably going to stop him from answering properly.

Adora made for the elevator and took one last look at her former master as he laughed loudly . . .

* * *

As the rest of the ships landed around Eternos, Adam surveyed the newcomers that emptied from them. He didn't recognize many of them, but a few of the soldiers he had served with during the war on Primus. He glanced down at a computer pad that Hydron had given him, and sighed heavily. Two more transports were due to set down within the next three hours.

"How's it going?" asked Teela, walking over, holding Addison in her arms.

"Pretty good so far."

"I never imagined such a difference in cultures," Teela admitted.

"I never imagined that Primians and Mutants would be working side-by-side," Adam replied. "It's pretty incredible, considerable all of the hatred that - "

"ADAM! IS THAT YOU!?" came a shouted.

Adam turned around and his jaw went slack. His heart sunk into his stomach and his eyes grew wide. A young woman stood there, chestnut brown hair flowing across her shoulders.

"Mara," Adam whispered. Immediately, Teela turned to face him, hearing that name.

"Adam!" Mara said, walking over. The soldier of Primus leaned forward then and gave Adam a hug . . . followed by a kiss on the lips.

Teela's face turned bright red and her eyes were like burning coals.

"Mara!" yelped Adam. "I . . . um . . . this is Teela."

Mara turned to face Teela with a big, wide grin. "Hello Teela," she greeted. "Funny, that robot was all wrong on the hair."

Teela turned back to Adam, hoisting Addison a bit. "Robot?"

Adam twitched a bit. "Er . . . Skeletor created a robotic version of you and sent her to me. It told me that Eternia was at peace and I couldn't come home. And then you - it - left."

Teela eyed him. "Okay . . . so how did you find out it was robot?"

This was where Mara stepped in. "Okay, well, it came back, right? And when it did, the robotic Teela started to strip."

At this point, Teela looked like she was about to strangle Mara. "Go on," she snarled.

"Well, okay, once the robot started it's little striptease, it kissed He-Man and then - get this! - exploded! It was just SO funny."

Adam suppressed a chuckle, amused by the memory. Teela, though caught it, and gave him a death glare that he would not soon forget.

"Well, as much as I'm enjoying this little reunion, I'm going to my room. It's time for Addison's nap, as you can tell."

Adam nodded, a little stunned by the harsh expression of her face. Mara threw her arm around Adam's shoulders.

"That's your son? Wow!"

Teela ignored Mara and just made for the stairs to the Palace. Mara smiled and turned to Adam. Adam looked longingly after Teela.

"You've changed, Mara," Adam said straightly, but still friendly.

"Peace changes a person. Purpose changes a person."

Adam took one last look at Teela as she faded from sight. "So does war," he said with a hushed tone.

Mara smiled at him again. "That Teela seems to have thing for you, Adam," she said. "I saw that look in her eyes when I kissed you. Pure, unbridled jealousy. She digging you."

Adam nodded. "I would hope so. We are a couple."

Mara gasped. "What? Really?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry . . . it's just that . . ."

Mara shook her head. "No, no. It's okay, it's all right. I'm sorry, really. I shouldn't have kissed you." She paused. "That was her, right? The one I said you were holding out for?"

"Yes, yes it is. If you'll excuse me please, Mara, I've got to meet with Hydron. The rest of the Galactic Guardians will be arriving shortly."

"Sure thing, Adam," came Mara's reply. "Mind if we meet up a little later? For coffee?"

To that, Adam smiled. "Sure thing, Mara. Sure thing."

* * *

Another transport ship landed softly among the dozen others. The doors came open and out came Kayo, Vizar, Nocturna, Tuskador, Artilla, Spinwit, and Sagitar. Right behind them were the scientists – Alcon, Gepple, Meloc, and Krex.

Adam, Hydron, and Flipshot went off to meet with them. Adam was immediately hugging and shaking hands with his old comrades. From not far away, Snout Spout, Rotar, Ram-Man, Roboto, Man-E-Faces, Gwildor, Moss Man, Fisto, Sy-Klone, Glimmer, Mermista, and Flutterina watched.

"Just who do they think they are, coming around here, being buddies with Adam?" asked Ram-Man.

"It's not like they've been through half the stuff we've been through with him," Sy-Klone muttered.

"Boys, boys," muttered Glimmer.

Adam and the group walked over, chatting and catching up.

"Gwildor, this is Alcon, Gepple, Meloc, and Krex. The chief scientists of Primus. Would you mind taking them to Man-At-Arms lab? I was hoping they could help us find my parents."

"Er, of course, of course, this way," Gwildor said, waving his hand to them.

"What a lovely planet!" Alcon pointed out.

"Very clean!" Gepple added.

"Not as nice as Primus," Meloc bemoaned.

"Don't tell me you're homesick already?" grumbled Krex.

Adam smiled and introduced the Heroic Warriors and Great Rebellion to the Galactic Guardians.

"What's your power?" asked Sy-Klone of Spinwit.

"Wind," replied Spinwit arrogantly.

"Oh, that's original," Sy-Klone scoffed.

"Copycat," Rotar added.

Snout Spout looked at Tuskador, studying and sizing him up briefly. "Is that armor? Can you take the face off?"

"Yeah," Tuskador answered.

Snout Spout squinted. "I hate you."

Adam looked Hydron with wide eyes. "Great start already."


	7. Chapter Four: Words and Punches

Chapter Four: "Words and Punches"

* * *

Snow swirled around Eternos that crowded afternoon, the gray skies keeping the sun away and caused snow to pile up upon itself. Adora stood next to her brother at the sight as they watched from the window.

"It was a good meeting," she said with care.

He nodded. "Yeah. I suppose it was. Ground forces should be gathered here soon."

"You're troubled."

"Yeah. Yeah I am."

"What is it? Horde Prime? Trouble with Teela? What's the problem?"

Adam shook his head and walked away from the window and sat down in a nearby couch. "None of the above, Adora."

Adora looked carefully at her brother and could easily see a problem. There was something dragging him down, something very powerful and heavy was laying on his shoulders. It had been for a while now, she realized, and she had just been too busy to see it before.

"Talk to me, big bro. What's going on?"

He looked up to her with honest eyes, and spoke in a voice like a whisper. "I can't tell you."

Adora was about to reply to this when the door suddenly flew open and Orko appeared, covered in tiny red and green light bulbs.

"MAY KRISTAS!" he shouted with joy, throwing his arms out to the twins.

Adam and Adora both looked at each other. "May . . . what?" questioned Adam immediately.

"You know, May Kristas," Orko replied.

"What is that? Who is that?" asked Adora, trying to decipher these words Orko was saying.

"Oh come on, you guys know what I'm talking about. That Earth holiday that's right after your birthday. The one that your Mom used to go on about and we celebrated when those kids ended here."

"Christmas," Adam replied. "Merry Christmas."

"Ohhhh! That's right!" Orko let out, smacking his head with his hand. "Duh! Well - MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

Adora smiled to Adam as memories flowed back to them. But then, seeing Orko, they realized that the poor Trollian hadn't heard the bad news about his homeworld. "Orko, I think we need to talk . . ."

Orko started pulling off the strings of lights, apparently hearing the serious tones in their voices. "Heh heh. Okay, what's going on?"

Adam took a breath. "Flipshot informed us of a number of worlds that came under Horde rule, but were suddenly released when the coup de tat occurred on the Horde World. Most of there were newer worlds taken."

"Trolla was one of them. It fell to the Horde two years ago, but was freed about eight months ago," Adora continued.

Orko's eyes were huge and it looked like his body was shaking. "The . . . the Horde?" he questioned. "But . . . Dree-Ell . . . and Yuckers and Uncle Montok. What happened to them?"

"We're not sure," Adam answered honestly. "The High Muck-Muck survived, I know. From what we can tell, there's an entourage on its way here tomorrow. There's no confirmation yet, but there are some representatives from Trolla on board. A few of Trolla's best mages to help out against Horde Prime."

Orko nodded, but it seemed like was only half-hearing those words. "I understand," he said. "I . . . uh . . . I want to be alone."

With that, Orko floated out of the room.

Adora sighed and turned to her brother. "That could have gone better," she said simply.

Adam nodded heavily. "Yeah. It could have."

"Adam, listen, I've got this idea. It's crazy, but since we're not getting any information from the Sorceress whatsoever, I'm wondering about Phantos."

Her twin brother perked an eyebrow. "Really? What do you mean?"

"I suppose part of it's just theoretical, but there could the possibility that the missing people on Eternia were teleported to Phantos."

"Possible. All right, do it. Have Hydron or Flipshot take you there in the Starship Eternia."

Adora nodded and made for the door.

* * *

"What do you call this again?" asked Gepple as he and the other scientists met with Man-At-Arms and Gwildor.

"The Cosmic Key," answered Gwildor.

It was quickly passed between the four of them, each one having something to say about the way it worked or looked or theories or suggestions. Man-At-Arms and Gwildor looked carefully at each other, Gwildor not caring for the way it was being man-handled by these strangers. U-R and Gleep were not surprised at all.

"Can you help us over here?" asked Man-At-Arms, pointing to the star field displayed on the main viewer.

"Oh yes!"

"Of course! Of course!"

"Sorry!"

Krex, however, kept his attention on the Cosmic Key. "I wonder if I can set it to open a portal to Primus . . ."

* * *

Teela shut the door behind her carefully, making sure not to wake Addison. After what had happened this morning, she had to keep her anger in check. Slamming doors were a part of that. That woman, that Mara . . . how dare she kiss Adam?

The young Captain flopped down onto her bed, eyes fixed on the snow outside her bedroom window. Her thoughts were suddenly a jumble and she tried to find a place of reasoning within them. After what had happened with Mara, there was something gnawing at her. Guilt.

Four years ago, Teela made a stupid choice and slept with a guy she did not love. Her true love - or, as she had known then, loves - were off on some other world. Adam told her not long ago that he suspected that she had feelings for him and she confessed the same thing, and that only made her guilt deepen.

"I really screwed this one up," she muttered.

Terrible thoughts flowed into her head. What if he liked the kiss? What if it was something he wanted again? What if he felt the betrayal of her act four years ago at last and wanted to make her feel the same? If Teela remembered correctly, didn't Adam mention being with her while they were on Primus?

Teela slammed down a mental door at those thoughts, stopping them from running about in her mind anymore. She sat up, determined to talk to Adam about it.

She asked one of the maids to stay in her room, and listen for Addison if he woke up from his afternoon nap. Teela then walked out of her room to search for Adam. After checking the usual spots - the throne room, the Situation Room, his room - Teela made her way towards the Mess Hall.

It was there she heard Adam's hearty laugh.

Followed by Mara's.

Teela peeked her head around the corner and looked into the Mess Hall. Adam was sitting across from Mara, the two drinking coffee and laughing it up. Mara was gazing at Adam with a look that was far-too-friendly. Adam was laughing pretty hard, something she realized he hadn't done much of since the confrontation with King Hiss.

Why was she making him laugh like that? Why was he with that woman? What were they talking about? How could -

She turned around suddenly and leaned against the wall. "Easy, Teela. It's okay. Calm down. Just be mature about this," she whispered to herself. "Ah . . . forget that. I need a gun."

Just as she was about to walk into the Mess Hall, she felt a voice reach into her mind. The Sorceress. It was quite rare to here from her like this, especially for Teela.

_Teela . . ._ the Sorceress spoke telepathically.

"Sorceress?" asked Teela.

_Please come to Castle Grayskull. I must speak with you._

Teela nodded. "Of course. I'll . . . I'll be right there." She began to walk away and promised not to look back as Adam bellowed out another laugh.

* * *

Adora was still quite amazed by the power of the Starship Eternia as it blasted through the solar system. She left barely three hours and was nearly at Phantos, the last world in the Eternian system. The world was nearly the size of a moon, and was often considered one, but it's leader - Queen Elmora - had insisted on otherwise and was therefore designated a planet.

"So, rumor has it there's been trouble for your brother," Hydron brought up.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I spotted Mara, his flame from Primus, giving him a big kiss right in front of Teela."

Adora smiled a bit. "Teela has quite a jealous streak. I'm sure she's not taking it well."

"Probably not," Hydron replied. He began to flip a few switches as Phantos filled their view. "We're coming in for a landing. Hold on."

As the Starship Eternia came down for a landing, Adora was far from surprised to see a contingent of guards near the landing platform. But as she hoped, Queen Elmora was standing with them, eyes locked securely on the craft at it settled.

Adora opened the hatch and walked out, the guards drawing their weapons at the sight of her and Hydron.

"I come to see Queen Elmora," Adora let out. "I am Queen Adora of Eternos, and have come on a mission of peace."

Queen Elmora stepped forward, raising her hand to the guards that stood at the landing platform. "Queen Adora of Eternos. Queen Adora of Eternia. Enemy of Skeletor," Elmora said, her voice full of judgement. A small grin then appeared on her face. "Any enemy of Skeletor is a friend of mine."

Adora smiled back. "Thank you," she offered. "This is Hydron of the planet Primus. I'm afraid our visit can't be longer, but I needed to speak with you."

"About what?"

"I trust you know about the Horde," Adora began as the pair began to walk towards Elmora's Palace.

"Yes," replied Elmora. "Etheria went dark and then we intercepted transmissions that Hordak conquered Eternia. I assume that He-Man returned then?"

Adora nodded. "Yes. And freed Eternia. But after he freed Eternia, it was discovered that many of the peoples and kingdoms that once resided on Eternia had vanished. The Sorceress of Grayskull knows where they are, but won't speak to us about it. I've been spending the past few months trying to figure out where they are."

Elmora nodded. "And you thought they may have been teleported here."

"Yes."

"No, Queen Adora, they weren't. The days here on Phantos have been calm for a long time."

Adora drew a breath and then released it, not surprised at all. "Okay then. Thank you for your time, Queen Elmora."

"Of course. I only wish the news had been better for you. Before you go, though, I was wondering if you could clear something up for me."

"What's that?"

"We've intercepted transmissions from Eternia. What is this armada that's building?"

Adora told the story of the great unrest within the Horde, leading to the Horde Prime coming to Eternia and an armada being set up to defend the world against him. When Adora finished with the story, Elmora nodded, but looked a bit puzzled.

"That explains that," Elmora said in reply. "But there was something else we've been detecting."

"What's that?"

"An energy signature coming Eternia. We're not sure where from on the planet, but it's heading into deep space. We've been investigated the energy signature and have found a written word within it."

Adora looked confused. "What word?" she asked.

"'Zodak.'"

* * *

Teela entered into the Throne Room of Castle Grayskull and saw the Sorceress standing, reading a book. The Sorceress closed it as soon as Teela came closer and turned and smiled.

"Teela," Sorceress greeted. "So good to see you."

"The same here," Teela replied. "What's this about? I've never known you to just call me and not anyone else."

"True, but there is a role for you to play in the up-coming conflict," the Sorceress said, walking up the stairs to her throne. "Adam."

"Yes, what about him?"

"He needs you, Teela. Something happened to him in the caverns beneath Eternia. Something that has shaken his faith. Have you not seen it?"

Teela nodded slowly, thinking now that it had been weeks since she'd known him transform into He-Man. "Yeah . . ."

"He needs you, Teela. To defeat Horde Prime, Adam must become He-Man. He will not speak to me, but he will to you."

"What happened to him? Why won't he speak to you?"

The Sorceress' eyes drifted away from her. "It is . . . it is something that I can not speak to you about. Only Adam can talk to you about it. It is only right that you hear it from him."

Teela nodded again. "Right . . ."

"You must help him restore his faith. You mean far more to him than you realize," Sorceress said straightly.

"I . . . I suppose," Teela answered, though not exactly believing it. "Thank you, Sorceress."

"Of course."

"I need to get back to the Palace. Addison . . . his nap is running over."

Sorceress nodded and allowed Teela to leave. As Teela left the Castle, the Sorceress felt a pang of guilt within her stomach. For Adam, for Teela . . . and for everything else that was going to happen in the next few months.

* * *

As the sun disappeared on the horizon, Adam joined Flipshot, Man-At-Arms, Hydron, Meriac, and Mara in the courtyard. A hologram of Eternos was projected between them.

"This scenario works," Adam decided. "But that's assuming that we're the target."

"It would make sense," Mara replied. "Eternos is the self-proclaimed capital of Eternia."

Flipshot nodded. "True, but - " He stopped mid-sentence, becoming aware of another presence among them.

"But what?" wondered Man-At-Arms. "What is it?"

Flipshot swiftly pulled out his laser pistol and fired into a nearby tree. A dark, shadowy figure jumped out, and rolled across the pavement.

"Oh no you don't!" shouted Flipshot, running after the figure.

Adam and Man-At-Arms recognized the figure immediately. It was Ninjor, obviously spying for Evil Lynn.

Ninjor ran across the courtyard, with Flipshot in hot pursuit. The cosmic guardian jumped up then and tackled Ninjor to the ground. Ninjor, though, slammed his pointer and middle fingers into the back of Flipshot's neck.

"Ah!" yelped Flipshot and he was thrown back.

Ninjor stood, and started to run, but Flipshot threw out his hand and blocked him. Ninjor swung a punch at Flipshot, but was blocked. Flipshot, in return, kicked Ninjor in the stomach. Ninjor tumbled back, but turned it into a flip.

When Ninjor landed, he slammed his palm into Flipshot's chin. Flipshot stumbled backwards, but spun and turned it into a kick. The kick landed on Ninjor's shoulder. Ninjor swung around and chopped Flipshot's side.

Flipshot tumbled a bit, allowing Ninjor to flip hands-and-feet across the walkway and into the Palace. Flipshot recovered quickly and ran after Ninjor. Ninjor threw the doors of the Palace open, and Flipshot ran behind. Ninjor then dropped from the ceiling and delivered a double kick to Flipshot's chest.

Flipshot moved with the momentum of the kick and flipped back to his feet, and assumed a fighting stance. Ninjor smiled behind black mask and assumed one as well. The two stood for a second, Ninjor with his right leg out and his leg turned to the side slightly in the back, his left hand in a fist by his jaw, his right hand flat and ready for a jabbing chop. Flipshot stood with both feet pointed squarely at Ninjor, both hands balled into solid fists.

After a tense few seconds, Ninjor made the first move. With lightning speed, he jabbed at Flipshot. Flipshot blocked the jab with his left arm, allowing for a strike from his right. His fist went straight for Ninjor's face, but Ninjor ducked and hit Flipshot in the stomach.

Flipshot felt the pain, but didn't let it falter him. His left hit Ninjor's neck, his swift leg slicing at Ninjor's feet. Ninjor leapt up and went for a quick high-kick at Flipshot's face. Flipshot ducked though and delivered his own kick to Ninjor's back. Ninjor rolled forward from it and landed on his feet, back turned to Flipshot.

He spun around and landed a punch right against Flipshot's helmet. Ninjor then came back with an open palm hit to the shoulder. Flipshot turned with it and leapt back to gain a little more room between them. Ninjor surged forward, shoulder bent to slam into Flipshot. But Flipshot used this to throw Ninjor off, and slammed his fist into Ninjor's side.

Ninjor swung his fist into the air, hoping to strike Flipshot. Flipshot bent backwards, the fist missing him completely. But Ninjor slid his leg into a tight position around Flipshot's and pulled. Flipshot went flying backwards, but recovered shockingly well by landing completely on his feet.

Flipshot then threw a punch at Ninjor, but Ninjor blocked it with one hand, and blocked a second one with his other hand. He broke the block and shoved himself back from Flipshot. Flipshot still moved forward, throwing a punch that was blocked. Ninjor threw a few punches himself but Flipshot blocked them.

Ninjor then threw a punch to Flipshot's face, finding it blocked - as expected. While Flipshot blocked it, Ninjor smashed his foot into Flipshot's stomach, then spun lightning-fast and slammed another foot into his side.

Flipshot crumbled to the ground, but grabbed hold of Ninjor's ankle and threw it up. Ninjor fell back and flipped to his feet while Flipshot flipped forward. Ninjor fired a punch, which Flipshot was able to block.

A kick was blocked, a thrust was stopped, a deathblow put off and on and on. Their fight was suddenly looking more and more like some sort of incredible dance to the on-lookers that were now gathering in the hall to watch.

Flipshot launched a fist to Ninjor's face, only to miss once more. As Ninjor dodged it, Flipshot threw his elbow in and smacked it into Ninjor's covered ear. Ninjor was thrown off balance, allowing Flipshot to throw both feet against his chest. Ninjor flattered back, and Flipshot caught up with his opponent, smashing his fist straight against Ninjor's head.

But Ninjor suddenly snapped forward and open-palm fisted Flipshot in the shoulders. He head-butted the cosmic guardian, then punched him in the gut. He jabbed at his neck and threw his shoulder against Flipshot's chest.

Suddenly, though, Flipshot grabbed hold of Ninjor's shirt and threw him back as well as himself. The two back flipped and landed in a crouch, their backs facing the other. With untold speed, the two stood, spun around and faced each other completely - this time, Ninjor was wielding a long, curved dagger, and Flipshot held out his laser pistol.

"I will slice off your hand before you even pull the trigger."

"And I'll blast you in the head before you even think about moving."

"ENOUGH!" roared King Adam, stepping between them. "Flipshot, stand down! Ninjor, what the hell are you doing here? We have a treaty! What are you doing spying on us?"

Ninjor put his dagger away. "Forgive us all if we happen to get curious when our 'ally' doesn't inform us that ships are coming to Eternos for reasons that are a mystery to us."

Adam grumbled. "If Evil Lynn had a problem or was curious, she could have just contacted us. Spying . . . isn't appreciated."

Ninjor came to full size. "Old habits die hard, King Adam."

"Inform Evil Lynn I will meet with her in person tomorrow at Snake Mountain. And tell her that next time we find a spy, we're not going so lightly about it."

Ninjor nodded and Adam walked off. Two well-armed guards walked over to escort him out, but Ninjor paused when he walked by Flipshot.

"Not bad. Next time I won't hold back," Ninjor said simply.

"Neither will I," Flipshot replied with a sharp smile.


	8. Chapter Five: The Art of Diplomacy

Chapter Five: "The Art of Diplomacy"

* * *

Not long after Teela returned from Castle Grayskull, she heard the news about Ninjor from her father. Apparently, Evil Lynn was upset at not being 'in the loop' regarding the Horde Prime/Primus situation. Adam hoped to resolve that in the morning.

Teela had hoped to talk to him, but just found that she wasn't up to it. Whatever was on her mind and what the Sorceress had told her . . . it would just have to wait until morning, hopefully before Adam left for Snake Mountain.

She couldn't help but feel that she was overreacting. Teela had hoped she wasn't, but the anger and guilt she felt was strong. She glanced at the clock and noticed that while it wasn't exceedingly late, she was tired. And it was also Addison's bedtime - who, she discovered, woke up as soon as she left.

After wrestling the four-year-old into his pajamas and into his bed for the night, Teela decided to get ready herself. She pulled on her pajamas and lounged around on the couch for a while, and tried to write in her diary. But every time she'd tried to put ink to paper, nothing would happen.

A few minutes of frustrating nothingness later, there was a knock at the door. Not really hoping it was Adam, she called out.

"Who is it?"

"It's Adora. I thought you and I could have some girl time."

A small smile crossed Teela's face and she opened the door. Adora, dressed in a blue nightie, walked in.

"Hi," Teela greeted.

"Hey, got a few minutes. I heard about what happened with Mara and Adam out at the convoy. I thought you might want to talk about it."

Teela shook her head, her ponytail bobbing behind her, the two of them sitting down. "It's stupid, Adora. You'll laugh. I'm just so jealous."

"Oh, trust me, I'm well aware of your jealous streak," Adora replied with a sly smile. It was no secret that Teela often times thought that He-Man and She-Ra were seeing each other, only to be insanely embarrassed about ever thinking that now.

"Part of me feels like it's nothing, but that's such a small part. The big part is split - one side telling me that he's doing this because I had sex with another man while he was gone and the other side is telling me that . . . that he just doesn't love me."

Adora shook her head. "No, no. That's not it at all, and you know it. He loves you, Teela. With all his heart."

Teela hung her head. "I . . . I know that. But I'm just so afraid of losing him again. You don't know what that's like, Adora. You don't."

"I do," Adora replied. "I know EXACTLY what you're talking about."

Teela looked up confused. "What?"

"Etheria. The world I've spent the last eight years protecting has been locked in oil for the past five. All of my friends - the ones that didn't make it - are in stasis. Including Seahawk."

"Seahawk . . ." breathed Teela, remembering the captain that had stolen Adora and She-Ra's heart.

"Maybe I didn't get pregnant, Teela, but at least you had someone there like Addison to keep you together."

"Yeah . . ."

"I miss Seahawk very much, but I know that I'll see him again. Just like I know that Adam loves you and would never do anything to hurt you."

Teela nodded, knowing those words were true. "Okay. Yeah, you're right."

Adora leaned back in her chair. "Damn straight I'm right. Now, if you want to ignore him tonight and make sure he knows you're mad at him - fine by me."

Teela giggled, for the first time all day. "Thanks."

"Well, you're quite welcome."

Teela got up and went to the fridge to fetch some wine. "I heard you went to Phantos today," she said as she poured two glasses.

"Yeah, that was an interesting trip," Adora replied, thanking Teela for the glass and taking a sip. "Elmora seemed at peace, as did her entire kingdom. Nice to know one world in this system is. But she didn't know anything about the missing kingdoms or races."

"Of course."

"I just wish the Sorceress would break her damn vow of silence, you know? It's driving me insane."

Teela nodded. "She's been rather cryptic lately."

"How so?"

"Well, she asked me to come to Castle Grayskull and talk to her. She was telling me I needed to be there for Adam. That something had happened to him while in those caverns that shook his faith. That I knew, but she seemed really concerned for him."

"You know, Adam has been like that these past few weeks. He's had some days that are better than others, but I can't remember the last time he turned into He-Man. I wonder what happened to him," Adora mused. "Speaking of mysterious, Elmora mentioned something that really caught my attention."

"What's that?"

"She mention that ever since He-Man came back, Phantos has been detecting an energy signature coming from somewhere on Eternia. Within that energy signature is the word 'Zodak.'"

Teela shrugged and sipped her wine. "Beats me. If you want to throw in that ship that attacked Adam from orbit, then we'd have one heckuva mystery."

Adora shook her head. "No, I think we'd better just concentrate on Horde Prime. He should be here in two days. Heh. On my birthday."

"Really? Oh gosh, I completely forgot!"

Adora laughed. "So did I!"

* * *

Late the next morning, in the throne room of Snake Mountain, King Adam stood side-by-side with Man-At-Arms, Sy-Klone and Mekaneck.

"We had a deal, Evil Lynn," Adam spoke loudly. All around him, the Evil Warriors chuckled.

"We did," Evil Lynn agreed, sitting upon her throne.

"Then why did you send a spy?" questioned Adam.

"Because when ships begin to land all around the location of a place that is quite important to Eternia, then I begin to get a little more than suspicious," Evil Lynn replied, standing up. "Our peace treaty may not say anything about sharing of information, but it does speak of openness. I felt in the spirit of that openness, which was not occurring, I should look into what was happening."

"Horde Prime is coming," Adam said clearly. "His son Zed overthrew Horde World, throwing the whole empire into chaos. Worlds are being abandoned, Admirals are going rogue and Horde Prime and everyone that is still loyal to him is heading here, to Eternia."

Evil Lynn breathed in. "Do you know why?"

"He's in search for 'the ultimate power," Adam answered. "Now, to what that ultimate power is, we don't know . . ."

"Hordak," Evil Lynn returned. "Horde Prime is after Hordak."

"Why?"

"Hordak has been alive for 1,500 years. In that time, he's obtained a lot of knowledge. What you don't know is that some 800 years ago, Hordak devised of an ultimate spell that could destroy an entire planet. It creates an incredible amount of power. Unfortunately, Hordak made Shadow Weaver put mental blocks in his mind to keep the spell from ever being discovered. Hordak never wanted to use it, and saw it as too much of an 'out' for him."

"And now Horde Prime wants that spell?"

"Exactly. From what I know, Horde Prime is dying. But he's determined not to die with any enemies left. He wants to destroy every world that has come against him."

Adam tensed at that. There were countless worlds out there that had fought hard against the Horde, including Eternia and Etheria.

"Join with us, Evil Lynn. Help us fight Horde Prime off."

Evil Lynn grinned and leaned back in her throne. "No, King Adam. You have all the allies you need. We have faith in you . . . for better or for worse."

* * *

Orko barely nodded when Ram-Man told him that Adam and the others had returned. All he had cared about were the reinforcements arriving. These ships would be carrying aliens from Horde-captured worlds that sought to stand against Horde Prime one last time. That was including Trolla.

Adam joined him a top the hill as the Orko watched the campsite below Eternos. "Any word on the convoy yet?" he asked.

"It's supposed to be here by now," Orko said nervously, his fingers folding and unfolding.

"There!" shouted Adam, pointing to the sky. A dozen large ships dropped down from orbit and landed in the fields. Orko sped down the hill, and Adam grinned a bit at his excitement and anxiousness.

One of the first ships that landed opened a large hatch on its side and Hydron immediately met with the people inside - members of a race Adam wasn't aware of. And then . . . out floated some Trollian mages, including the Crimson Council, Prankster, Snoob, Squange, and the High Muck-Much. They followed by none other than Dree-Ell, Yonkers and Montok. Orko's cries of joy could be heard all throughout the region.

Adam went down to talk to Hydron and hopefully be introduced to these new aliens - when he spotted some aliens he DID know.

"Hey Adam!" shouted Rokkon, emerging from one of the ships with Stonedar.

Adam was awestruck, but then hardened. He stomped over to Rokkon and immediately pushed him to the ground.

"HOW DARE YOU SET FOOT ON THIS PLANET AGAIN!?" shouted Adam.

"Whoa, Adam, calm down!" yelped Hydron.

Rokkon stood back up. "Yeah, hey, you don't understand - "

"DON'T UNDERSTAND!? DON'T UNDERSTAND!?!" Adam charged towards Rokkon, only to be held back by Hydron.

"Stand down, Adam!" shouted Hydron, holding Adam back.

Rokkon lifted his hand to calm Hydron. "No, no. Hydron, I think Adam and I need to have a chat, don't you agree, Adam?"

Adam pulled away from Hydron and stepped forward. "Definitely."

Rokkon and Adam walked away from the crowd, snow kicking up around them. Once they were a reasonable distance from the campsite and Eternos, Rokkon stopped and turned to Adam.

"I suppose you heard then," Rokkon assumed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"About you spying on us for Zodak? Yes."

Rokkon went limp, and allowed his large rocky arms to hang from his sides. "We weren't exactly spying, only sending reports to him whenever something occurred that fell into certain parameters of his interests - "

Adam threw his head back. "Right. I see that's a big difference. You betrayed us!"

Rokkon pointed right at Adam. "No! We never betrayed you! You wanna know why we were doing this? We were doing it because Zodak swore to us that the Horde would be defeated on our homeworld! Zodak helped save us for this little task! We only asked us to send him up-dates on matters that considered the overall balance of power here! We OWED him!"

Adam grew angry, but kept it in check. "Tell me something then . . . where were you when Hordak came back?"

"We were captured, but Hordak didn't want anything to do with us. He beamed us and the Meteorbs into deep space where we eventually found my homeworld/. By the time we reached it, word had spread about the crumbling of the Horde's empire and we joined in the fighting, remembering what had happened to us."

Rokkon sighed heavily. "We didn't fully understand the amount of manipulation done on Eternia. But we didn't do any of that, we were just fulfilling a job - and helping you. No matter what happened, we owed you as well for your companionship. We served you loyally, despite whatever else happened."

Adam shook his head. "Yeah, well, this is one companion you've lost. When this is all over, I want you off my planet. And do me a favor while you're here - don't tell anyone else about Zodak. So far, I'm the only one who knows."

Rokkon nodded and looked to his left, seeing members of the Heroic Warriors making their way over. Adam walked off and Rokkon was soon in the presence of friends again. But after Adam's word, he felt a self-conscious sting at those words.

* * *

Adora from the balcony as she observed Dree-Ell and Orko floating across the courtyard, holding hands. A strong sense of maturity in their lives - in their relationship - had seemed to come across them. War, Adora imagined, had changed the nature of their relationship. They were just so happy to see each other, nothing else seemed to matter.

She then giggled when Montok and Yuckers started chucking snowballs at the couple, resulting in an immediate return fire. It was nice to see such wonderful things in this terrible time.

"Queen Adora," said an aide then. "Your brother and the delegates are in the Meeting Room, awaiting your arrival."

Adora let the smile fade and nodded to the aide. She walked up the stairs and entered into the Meeting Room, the large camp outside visible through the window-paneled walls. Adam beckoned her to a chair.

"I'll make this as brief as possible," he said up-front. "We're facing a massive emergency. Horde Prime is on his way to Eternos and considering the current state of affairs, we're looking at trouble. I'll be honest - we're what's keeping this world together in these post-war months. I'm asking you to join with us against Horde Prime and his soldiers. If you don't, then we could be in for some serious danger."

Johanna was the first to speak. "I can have soldiers from North Eternos here by sundown."

Stephan nodded. "West Eternos will give aide by that same time. The soldiers of Eternos will stand united."

"We do not have much to offer," Rana of Targa said.

"But we'll send word to Targa to assemble hunters and strongmen to help in this conflict," Raya said, finishing her sister's proposal.

"My royal guard will be more than happy to help Eternos if the danger is that grand," Valena of Ahberron gave in.

"Arcadia supports this battle. You have our help," Queen Sumara stated clearly.

"The Golden Isles will be more than willing to help out in this crisis," Counselor Ari offered.

"Then let the kingdoms of Men stand together," Moriana said with a strong smile.

"And let Avion stand with you," Stratos added. "I will have five legions of warriors here by midnight."

"With Insectoids right behind," Buzz-Off followed up.

"I will send word to the Lizard Caverns," Lizard-Man said smally. "I'll attempt to gather arms there for protection in this fight."

The others turned to Batros, Lodar and Icer. Batros grunted and straighten. "A contingent of Bats are on stand-by. I'll have them take a flying position for the . . . good of all Eternia."

Adam nodded and smiled.

Icer spoke next. "I will be here, only because the poles are in danger."

Lodar shifted uncomfortably in his chair, then resigned at last. "We will be here with a army of Kobloids."

The others chimed, each one offering at least some support in the war efforts.

Adora turned to Adam. "With the exception of Snake Mountain - all Eternia has united under you with full faith that will win it."

Adam smiled wide. "Knowing that makes me feel like we can.


	9. Chapter Six: Formations

Chapter Six: "Formations"

* * *

Adam fell into bed thinking about his parents and what they would be doing right now. His mother would probably be talking about Christmas stories from back home and his father would most likely be involved in a political debate with some ambassador. He missed that. He missed that so much.

They were stuck on Earth now and it was just another disappointment he had been forced to deal with since his return. There were a lot of those. Hordak's conquest . . . Etheria's fall . . . his parents missing . . . it had all come crashing down on him.

And then there was the manipulation factor.

But there was something within Adam that seemed to activate. Something that was missing from him when he was told the 'truth' by Zodak. He wasn't quite sure what it was nor how he had come to feel it. It was a sudden need, a yearning for solidity.

Adam stood up from his bed and walked out of his chambers, and headed down to the next floor. He suddenly found himself in front of Teela's door. He glanced at the time clock, knowing she would be asleep by now.

With everything going on, it had been difficult for him to talk to her regarding the whole Mara situation. He had barely even seen her today. Was she still mad? Probably. Maybe. But considering Horde Prime would be arriving in just over twenty-four hours, there wasn't time to be angry anymore.

He raised his fist and knocked on the door. A moment later, Teela opened it and looked at him with surprise.

"Adam!"

"We need to talk," he said to her stepping forward. "Can I come in?"

Teela nodded and let him. As he sat down on the couch, Teela pulled her bed-head hair back into a ponytail. "Good idea."

"I'm sorry. I've been so stupid. I should have talked to you sooner about Mara. This whole situation . . . she just didn't know. She thought I hadn't made a move yet. But that doesn't matter now. It doesn't."

Teela reached out and put her hand on Adam's. "I know. Trust me, what happened between Addison's father and me . . . I thought that maybe you were starting to . . . geez, you know what? I think you and I just made this one big stupid problem. Overcomplicated, under-thought, and just plain stupid."

Adam laughed and pulled her against him. "Yeah. Listen, Teela, Mara was special to me, but she could never replace you. She never did."

Teela snuggled up in his arms. "Neither did John."

"I love you, Teela. With all my heart."

She smiled and kissed his chest. "I know," came her reply. "I love you too."

For a moment, they cuddled in silence glad that this event was over with. Adam sighed and ran his hands over her. "Well, now I think I'm ready to take on Horde Prime."

Teela suddenly looked up at him with seriousness. "Are you?"

Adam frowned. "What do you mean?"

She pulled away from him and looked Adam straight in the eyes. "Are you ready for Horde Prime? We have an army, but are we going to have the one person we need?"

"He-Man," grunted Adam. "I . . ."

Teela touched his face gently. "I'm not going to ask you what happened in those caverns. I'm not. But I can tell you that as someone who loves you - I'm worried. I'm worried about and so are the others. We all know now that it's you inside He-Man. It's your heart guiding that warrior. But we don't know what that heart's feeling. It's like you've lost faith in what you've once held dear."

Adam didn't answer, but felt himself shudder at those words. Teela reached forward and hugged him hard. "I love you so much, Adam. I have for so long and you know it. We trust you. We depend on you. We have faith in you. But tell me - what do you have faith it?"

Teela pulled back and wondered what he was thinking. For a long moment, Adam seemed unfocused. But then, his eyes became clear and he took a deep breath. "Us. You. Me."

She smiled and kissed him. "But what else do you have faith in?"

"Life," Adam said. "That's what's been fueling me all these years, what's been making me raise that sword. The knowledge and the fact that life is special has always kept me going. Always maintained me."

"And something in the caverns ruined that. Something messed with your head so much that you lost your faith in life."

Adam nodded, as if finally coming to realize that. "Yeah . . . yeah. That's it. Exactly. But . . . what I learned . . . it scared me from . . . saving lives."

"Right," Teela replied, though she didn't quite understand what happened, it was obvious that this had happened.

"That's something I've been scared of, Teela, but it's something it's about time I overcome!" he said, his voice rising, eyes growing hard. Adam's heart thundered. "By the Ancients, I can't let what they did overcome! I can't and I WON'T!"

Adam stood up. Teela's eyes turned wide, trying to figure out what he was meaning. She stood up and held his fists in her hands, smiling. "That's great. Really, that's great. But, um, Addison is in bed."

"Sorry." Adam smiled and kissed her. "Thank you, Teela. I feel better. Much better than . . . well, along time. I love you."

"I love you too, you big stupid hero," Teela replied, kissing him.

The kiss turned deep. Passionate. Powerful, as if there was a force that was so much larger than both of them pushing the couple together. Adam felt great, full of energy and renewed in faith. As he and Teela began to grow more passionate in their kissing, he could feel her love for him giving him strength.

She pulled away from him suddenly and stood up. Adam was a little surprised by this, but Teela smiled.

"It's time," she half-whispered.

Adam, for a brief second, wasn't she what she was talking about. But then, as she outstretched her hand to him and beckoned him off the couch, he understood.

"Are you sure?" he asked after kissing her again.

"Yes. Yes, Adam, yes . . ."

He smiled and the two walked towards her bedroom door. They made love together for the first time. It was glorious and passionate and amazing . . .

In the aftermath, faces red and sweaty, hair messy, and both quite worn out and in the warm afterglow on their love-making, Adam and Teela fell asleep together . . .

* * *

The next morning, Adam awoke in Teela's bed. He felt good. He felt great. He also knew that in fifteen hours, Horde Prime would be showing up with a couple hundred ships intent on destroying his and a few hundred other planets.

"No sweat," he muttered to himself as he blinked into awareness. He put his hand next to him, trying to find Teela. He sat up, realizing she wasn't there. "Teela? Where are you?"

Adam stood up and walked out of the room, put on his pajamas, then pulling on his robe. Outside, in the living area of her quarters, Addison stood by the couch smiling.

"Hi Addison. Where's your Mom?"

Addison grinned some more and looked on the verge of snickering. Adam found himself doing the same. "I dunno," snickered Addison, swerving back and forth.

"Are you sure?" asked Adam. "What if I tickle you? Will that get the truth outta you?"

At that Addison's eyes grew wide. Adam lunged at him and picked up the four-year-old and proceeded to tickle his belly. Addison struggled in Adam's arms, laughing like a hyena from the tickling. Adam then threw him up into the air, and caught him.

"Now do you now?" asked Adam, smiling.

"S-She's - heheheh - she's in the frome room! Ha ha ha!"

"The Throne Room? She is?! Okay! Let's go!" Adam said then, putting the young kid on his shoulders and walked out of the quarters.

As he neared the Throne Room, Adam soon realized what this was all about. He had forgotten what this day was and meant, but it was very swiftly coming back to him. And as soon as he entered into the Throne Room - it all was true.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" shouted a large crowd. Adam bellowed out a laugh and put Addison down, allowing him to run over to Duncan.

The Galactic Guardians, the Heroic Warriors, the remaining Great Rebellion, Stephan, and Johanna had all gathered around a large cake, wiped up by Chef Allan. Adora walked over and gave Adam a big hug. "Happy birthday, bro."

"Thanks. Happy birthday, Adora."

The two turned to the cake, which was all lit up with twenty-nine candles. Adam looked to Adora and smiled as the two huffed and puffed under the last candle was out - which was difficult because they kept flickering back to life.

"Orko, are these your trick candles?" laughed Adam, attempting to blow out number 12.

"No! They're mine!" Montok shouted.

"Yeah, they won't blow up!" yelled out Yuckers.

Adora blew against another one of the candles. "Sy-Klone! Rotar! You guys better help out here!"

"And you too Snout Spout!" shouted Adam.

Laughter ensued and the twins were finally able to blow out the candles, leading to a lot of claps and whistles. As the cake was passed out, though, a much more serious tone was taken. Despite the celebration, there was still a lot of work to be done.

* * *

About an hour later, Adam, Hydron and Flipshot walked towards the Starship Eternia. "Most of the fleet is in position. Nearly two hundred ships are sitting up there, ready for a battle."  
Adam nodded. "You'll be leading the assault?"

"You betcha," Flipshot replied, giving Adam the thumb's up.

"We've still got another ten hours until Horde Prime and his armada are in full sensor view, but by then, we should be good," Hydron then said. "We'll keep in constant contact with Eternos. Mara, as you know, will be commanding our ground troops."

"I know. She'll be working side-by-side with Teela. Should be interesting."

"I'll say," Flipshot said then.

"We'll let you know once we're in position. Godspeed."

The pair walked into the Starship Eternia, which thrusted up from the landing pad and soon blasted off into the late morning sky. As Adam watched it disappeared, Man-At-Arms approached from behind.

"Adam, you have second?"

"What is it?" asked Adam, turning around.

"It maybe nothing, but there's been unusual distortion outside our solar system. Like I said, it could just be our sensors screwing up, but I just thought I'd let you know."

Adam nodded. No way it could be Zodak, he was more up front about these sorts of visits. Unsure as to what to think, Adam shrugged and walked back into the Palace.

* * *

Teela surveyed the army surrounding Eternos and the mountain prison of Hordak and King Hiss. The armies of Men were standing along the walls of Eternos, while the Kobloids and Insectoids took the fields and the Bats and Avions kept the skies. The alien warriors were at the mountain, just about prepared for anything.

It was Mara then who swaggered up to Teela. "Hi," she greeted.

Teela sighed. "Hi," she replied.

"I'm sorry about what happened," Mara apologized. "I wasn't thinking. I guess I was just being stupid."

Teela nodded and resigned herself to Mara's thinking. "I . . . I understand. Adam - and He-Man - have that affect."

Mara smiled at Teela. "You're very lucky, you know? He's a great guy. The best. And he's so in love with you. Even back on Primus, I knew it. He never let go of you. You were the one that got away. I was just the . . . the crush that he sorta liked. But he got you back. And I hope for the only the best for you two. Really."

Teela found herself liking Mara all of a sudden. "I . . . I don't know really what to say . . . other than, thank you. I appreciate hearing that."

"I know," Mara said then. "Listen, I need to get to the mountain. I'm in charge of the alien division. I'll catch up with you later."

"Yeah."

Mara walked off, heading towards the mountain about a mile away. Teela smiled widely, happy at the new development in her day.

* * *

The hours were slipping by in record time. Adam had just checked in with Orko. Orko, Dree-Ell, Montok, and Yuckers were guarding Addison at a secure location within the Palace. With the afternoon fading into evening, Adam knew it was time.

Cringer walked over to him, knowing it as well.

"It's been a long time," Cringer said.

Adam nodded and pulled out the Sword of Power. His eyes traced along its metal blade, studying it for long moments. "Yeah," he said simply. "Yeah, it has been."

"Adam? Are you okay?" asked Cringer.

Adam sighed and leaned up against a nearby pole. "Cringer, there's something I've got to tell you. You see, down in those caverns, I was told . . . a very disturbing truth."

"What kind of truth?"

Adam paused, swinging the sword around. "That for many years, the Cosmic Enforcers have been coming to Eternia and manipulating events for the purpose of escalating the war between good and evil. The biggest of which was giving some of our ancestors very advanced technology."

Cringer stared at Adam long and hard. Adam went on. "Everything that has occurred since then has been part of a grand manipulation by the Cosmic Enforcers. It makes it hard to overcome. I've realized I have to overcome it and I have faith in what I need to do - but when it comes down to it . . ."

Cringer put his paw onto Adam's arm. "Stop being afraid, Adam. Just do it."

Adam looked at Cringer for a moment, thinking about the simplicity in his old friend's voice. He took a deep breath . . . and lifted the Sword of Power.

"By the power of Grayskull . . ." he bellowed. The sword exploded in radiant and familiar power and light. Already, Adam could feel the transformation overcoming his young body. "I HAVE THE POWER!" he then declared, the transition from Adam into He-Man complete.

He-Man then held out the sword and blasted Cringer. In an instant, Cringer became Battle Cat. The energy then faded and He-Man leapt onto Battle Cat's back.

"You were right, old friend," He-Man said.

Battle Cat roared. "Right! Now, let's get ready to fight!"

* * *

While the snow fell upon the armies at Eternos, She-Ra walked into the uber-guarded prison that held Hordak and King Hiss. After the security checks and the long ride through the mountain, She-Ra arrived and faced Hordak.

"He's almost here?" questioned Hordak.

"Yes."

"You know what he's after?"

"You."

"Yes."

Hordak stared right at her. "How dare you come here as She-Ra? Haven't you twisted the knife in my heart enough?"

She-Ra squinted at her former leader. "Let's get something straight here, Hordak. YOU kidnapped ME! YOU deceived ME! My betrayal was a surprise to you? HA! Right! I believe that one!"

Hordak snarled. "I took care of you!"

"YOU KIDNAPPED ME!"

It was then that King Hiss began to laugh. "It's funny, because it seems you learned that from him, She-Ra."

She-Ra turned around. "What are you talking about?"

"He betrayed Horde Prime just like you betrayed him! Deception and betrayal seems like a trait of those that serve the Horde," Hiss explained.

Hordak said nothing to this, and only turned away from the pair. She-Ra didn't say anything and only just stood there, waiting for the battle to begin.

* * *

"By the Council . . ." shuddered Hydron, taking a look at his sensors. "It's bigger than I thought."

Flipshot positioned himself next to his old friend. "No kidding," Flipshot replied, activating forward weapons and shields. "Three hundred vessels in an class-three offensive position. They're protecting the Horde Flagship."

"How did he get all those other ships to follow him?"

Flipshot prepped the targeting array. "I don't know. Probably pulled his weight around and got some of his 'less rogue' rogues to follow him."

"Seems like," Hydron replied. He then opened a com-channel with the rest of the fleet. "All right, all ships, shift into defensive position Alpha-Zero-Three. Prepare to engage the enemy on the mark . . ."


	10. Chapter Seven: One Shot

Chapter Seven: "One-Shot"

* * *

He-Man stepped out of the Palace and along the front wall, where he joined Teela. He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. "How's everyone doing?" he asked.

"Fine as far as I know. I've been getting up-dates every three minutes," she replied. "I'm glad you're . . . um . . . you."

He-Man smiled and kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks. At least it stopped snowing."

"Yeah." Teela then looked up into the twilight sky and watched as tiny flashes of light burst above. "Things look pretty bad from down here."

He-Man nodded. "We don't know that yet. We've been in constant contact with Hydron and Flipshot since the battle began. It's 3:2 fight. We'll win it."

Teela stifled a small laugh. "You sound so confident."

"I am. I believe in this, Teela," he said. He took her hand. "I believe in us."

"Let's hope it's justified."

* * *

Hydron gritted his teeth as the Starship Eternia barely missed scrapped the hull of an attacking Horde ship. He slammed the navigational controls upwards, the starship flying up. As it did, Flipshot used the lasers to open fire on their attacker.

Scraps of metal were blasted off their enemy as twin laser beams slammed into its hull. Flipshot smiled and began to open fire on the next target.

"Not bad," Hydron complimented.

"Thanks. I try," Flipshot replied.

Hydron glanced at the layout reads and opened a com-channel. "Mutant Wing - stay in formation, maintain present course," he said, then closing the channel once more.

"Bet that felt weird."

"Yeah it did. Ordering Mutants - it's strange, working with them."

"Something we just gotta get used to."

Flipshot blasted at another attacker, it's hull buckling and exploding - reaching into its engine core and blowing up. Flipshot let out a victory cry and the Starship Eternia soared towards the opposition once more.

And then, quite suddenly, the Horde flagship appeared right from of them. An energy beam struck the vessel. All of a sudden sparks began to fly out from overloading systems. Hydron tried at the navigational controls, but they had gone dead.

"We've lost weapons!" shouted Flipshot, minor explosions leaping from his panel.

"Navigation is dead! Whatever that was, it scrambled our computer systems," Hydron yelled out as smoke filled the bridge.

"We're not the only ones . . ." gasped Flipshot, gazing out the window. The Flagship was blasting the other Primus and Mutant ships, causing them to become dead in space.

"That's not the only problem we have," Hydron then said, watching as the Flagship took a lower orbit. "They're within teleportation range of Eternos."

* * *

The Sorceress sat upon her throne, her mind reaching out and probing the attackers. Only a small number of them were actually alive - over 90 were robots. But there was terrible danger to Eternia, for she sensed an all-too-familiar mind within the Horde Flagship. Morgoth, former leader of the first Horde incursion on Eternia.

How he escaped the Flaming Wheel was unknown, but Eternia was in grave danger if he was back. Horde Prime would use him to lead the Horde Troops while he sought out Hordak. He had to be stopped . . .

The Horde had to be stopped . . .

While she had confidence in He-Man and Eternia's ultimate victory, she felt as though she had to save as many lives as she possibly could. The Sorceress quickly went to work, gathering power and strength. It would take a few moments to do what she needed to, but the Sorceress was anything if not determined.

* * *

Man-At-Arms rushed out of the lab, as fast as he could with using his cane. "We've lost contact with the Starship Eternia. Sensors indicate that the Flagship is in position for teleportation."

He-Man readied himself. Right as Man-At-Arms finished, there were sudden bursts of light and energy. And then, right before them, gigantic portals opened.

Scores of Horde Troopers poured out, their metallic boots falling onto the frozen ground. Their weapons were shouldered as they began to march towards the incredible armies. He-Man felt a knot form in his gut as more and more walking out from those portals, heading right towards the forces of Eternia.

"Get ready," He-Man said to Teela. "They'll probably open fire any - "

It was just at the second that the laser cannons the Horde Troopers were carrying fell into their hands and they opened fire.

"FIRE!" yelled Teela then.

The Men that stood in position around Eternos opened fire with their open lasers, sending beams of energy into the robotic army. Horde Troopers fell, but they all continued to pour out and march forward. The fall of one of their robotic comrades was not even to sway them.

"Lodar!" shouted He-Man. "NOW!"

Lodar resisted a sharp reply and instead pointed forward, his Kobloids surging forth into battle against the onslaught of Horde Troopers. The pale-violet creatures roared forward, their thick hides holding off the brunt of the laser fire. They smashed their fists into the Horde Troopers, splitting them open and causing them to crash to the ground.

And then, there was a terrible blast of energy. He-Man spun around and saw that someone was using sorcery against Lodar and the Kobloids.

"Morgoth . . ." he muttered as the freed Horde leader stepped onto Eternia soil. His armor was thick, but he wore no helmet, allowing his face and dark flowing hair to be seen. He wanted Eternia to know that the scourge of seventy-five years ago had returned in full force.

"Teela," He-Man ordered, "I want the Kex, the Tychons, and the Royal Soldier 7th and 8th divisions to give back-up to the Kobloids. Order all other soldiers forward. I'm going to go after Morgoth."

A shiver went up Teela's spine. "That's Morgoth?!"

"Yes."

Teela looked at him weakly, very unsure. "Are you certain you can take him?"

He-Man nodded. "As Adam? No. As He-Man? I certainly hope so."

Just as He-Man leapt onto Battle-Cat and the pair went into battle, three more portals opened - this time all in the sky.

Bat-Mechs soared out now, and headed right towards the mountain prison. As they did, a large contingent of Avions, Bees, and Bats swept in. The Bat-Mechs, being the large air force of the Horde Imperial army, prepared to open fire.

But the Bees were too fast, the Bats too aware with their ultrasonics, and the Avions were a lot tougher than the Horde gave them credit for. They intercepted the Bat-Mechs, easily avoiding their missiles and lasers. The Bees swept in quickly, ripping the great flying machines apart with their large-hooked weapons. Missiles shot from the Avions, blasting the Bat-Mechs into flaming metallic chunks. The Bats unleashed waves of sonic noise at the flying attackers, causing them to crash into one another.

Meanwhile, on the ground, a large force of Horde Troopers marched towards the mountain where the aliens stood ready to fight. As soon as they neared the roots of the mountain, the Heroic Warriors and the Great Rebellion leapt into battle.

Castaspella used an amazing spell that swept a bunch of the Troopers off their feet and they all went crashing into each other. Bow sent enchanted arrows to his enemies, causing them to explode upon contact. Glimmer teleported them right into each other. Mermista rusted them out with blasts of water. Flutterina flew between some of the Troopers, confusing them and causing them to fire at each other.

Clamp Champ, Fisto, and Ram-Man bashed a bunch with his head, while Snout Spout washed them to the ground. Mekaneck and Extendar used their extendable parts to knock them apart. Roboto, Rio-Blast, and Man-E-Faces blasted the robotic warriors into debris. Wind from Spinwit, Sy-Klone and Rotar caused many of the Horde Troopers to go flying into the air. Plants snared many of the Horde Troopers and crushed them with incredible strength thanks to Moss Man and the Woodsman.

Sagitar slammed them into the ground. Nocturna and Kayo used their fists and fighting skills to tear them into shreds. Artilla's lasers proved the Horde Troopers that they were no match for him. Tuskador smashed into them with his mighty tusks.

Then came a sudden burst of power and both the Great Rebellion and the Heroic Warriors were thrown backwards. Morgoth strode forward, energy flowing from his hands and against the great defenders of Eternia and Etheria.

"The way is clear, my liege," he spoke into a wrist communicator.

A new portal opened then. Two figures emerged, set upon two large ugly and dark steeds with huge bat wings. These figures were carrying a pair of gigantic axes and appeared to be skeletons with thick and ancient armor. The Great Rebellion recognized them immediately. They were the Dark Riders of the Horde.

And then someone else emerged. He was huge, nearly fifteen feet tall. His hands were long and clawed. His entire body was covered in thick armor and two large, red rings emerged from his back. Tubes flowed from his back to his chest and two others from his forehead to his upper back. His face was old and yellow, but looked very much like Hordaks. It was quite obvious who this was - Horde Prime.

He floated through the portal on a hover board, and quite quickly, Inspector Darkney was by his side.

"Dark Riders, Morgoth - attend to this rabble! I must find my brother!"

* * *

Fires exploded on the hull of the Starship Eternia, and quickly went out in the freezing temperatures of space. Flipshot braced himself against the wall as the rest of the power drained. Hydron slammed his fists against the controls as he watched ships exploded outside - all adrift without power.

And then, strangely, something happened. The Starship Eternia began to open up, moving oddly and powerlessly into station-mode. "How is this possible?" asked Hydron, the ship moving effortlessly without power.

A sudden telepathic voice entered their minds. It was the Sorceress. _Once,_ she began, _you helped save Castle Grayskull by taking Skeletor out of a vital battle. It is time that favor is repaid!_

A shaft of energy fired up from Castle Grayskull and struck the Starship Eternia. It flared, all systems coming on-line and restoring. The energy that flowed off of the Starship Eternia then energized the ships around it and powered them back up.

They, in turn, released power onto the ships surrounding them. In under a minute, the entire fleet was at full power once more.

Hydron took the controls of the Starship Eternia along with Flipshot.

"This is Hydron to the rest of the fleet," he commanded. "Set course for the flagship and lock your weapons!"

* * *

The power of Horde Prime was far more than Mara had expected.

As he floated up the mountain, every laser beam, energy blast, missile, and any other attack was shrugged off. He returned it in kind, blasting away each of the alien forces that opposed him. He was reaching the summit, where the prison of Hordak and King Hiss was located. Mara lifted a large energy cannon and hoped that it would have some sort of effect on him.

A ball of energy flew from the cannon - and dissolved against a force field that surrounded Horde Prime. Horde Prime turned to her, his yellow eyes locking onto her brown ones. They seemed to glow for a moment, and she knew it. She was targeted for death.

As a beam of power flew through the air, another body collided with hers and Mara went tumbling down onto the mountain's dirt floor. She-Ra stood above her, having just saved her life.

"Rally the troops," She-Ra ordered. "Now."

She-Ra then ran and leapt onto the back of Swift-Wind and went straight for Horde Prime. Horde Prime said nothing as she neared. He lifted his hands and they glowed with intense power.

"Sword to shield!" She-Ra yelled, his sword transforming into a wide shield. A full thrust of power struck against it, causing both She-Ra and Swift-Wind to falter in mid-air.

Inspector Darkney then pointed to Swift-Wind. Horde Prime smiled and nodded. Before She-Ra could move, a second energy blast struck both she and her pegacorn. Both tumbled to the ground . . .

* * *

Meanwhile, between the Dark Riders and Morgoth, both the Heroic Warriors and the Great Rebellion were faltering. Just as Morgoth was preparing himself for one final assault, there came a sudden shout.

"MORGOTH!"

Morgoth turned and found He-Man leaping off of Battle Cat and slamming right into him. Morgoth staggered back as He-Man stood against him, taking all the attention away from his allies. Without Morgoth, the others would have a better chance at besting the Dark Riders. He hoped, at least.

He-Man swung his Sword of Power towards Morgoth, and was able to deflect an energy blast. He then leapt up and punched Morgoth right in the face. Morgoth snarled and smacked He-Man away. Morgoth stood up to full-size and pulled out his Staff and Emerald Jewel.

He-Man surged forward, but Morgoth crossed both objects and burst of power came from them. He-Man was suddenly overcome by the attack, his body under heavy assault. He fell to ground, defeated. Morgoth grew closer, a smile crossing his lips beneath his thick black beard as he was about to step on He-Man's unconscious body.

Just then, two large boulders slammed right into Morgoth. He faltered a bit and then was struck again. The boulders swirled around him, and smashed against him with incredible impact. Morgoth felt himself stumble a bit as Rokkon and Stonedar poured on the pure physical force.

Then, a series of egg-shaped rocks came smashing into him. The Meteorbs, lead by Rokkon and Stonedar, rammed right into the ancient Horde sorcerer and warlord. He started to hold up his staff and jewel to attack them - but a loud screech halted that. An orange falcon swooped down from the sky and snatched them from his hands.

He-Man awoke and saw Zoar soaring above Morgoth as the Meteorbs, Stonedar and Rokkon attack him. The eagle form of the Sorceress was holding Morgoth's staff and jewel. He-Man knew what he had to do. He lifted his Power Sword and called out to the Spirit of Grayskull.

The Sword of Power lit up with energy and it struck at the sky. Zoar screeched and held out the staff and the emerald jewel. Fire appeared in the sky and it circled, forming into the Wheel of Fire, the eternal prison of Morgoth.

"NO! I WON'T GO BACK! I WON'T!" shouted Morgoth as the flames reached down like two hands and grabbed hold of him. He struggled against them, as the Meteorbs, Rokkon, and Stonedar moved away.

"Don't worry!" yelled Rokkon as he flew towards the Dark Riders with Stonedar.

"You won't be alone!" continued Stonedar.

The pair smashed right into the Dark Riders and sent them flying towards the Wheel of Fire. They entered and the Wheel of Fire spun faster, and held Morgoth harder. But still - Morgoth struggled to be free. He-Man ran forward and slammed his fists right into Morgoth's stomach. Morgoth faltered and was then pulled into the Wheel of Fire.

It then shrank and dimmed, then vanished completely.

He-Man heaved a sigh of relieve and turned to Eternos to see how things were going. It looked to be going fairly well, with the united front standing against the Horde Troopers.

A sudden rumble shook the ground then and He-Man looked up to see Horde Prime had reached the top of the mountain - and the prison.

* * *

Horde Prime opened his arms and sent an energy blast sailing into the prison structure. The doors were blasted open and the soldiers inside were down already. As he entered, he turned to Inspector Darkney, who was pressing keys on a small computer pad.

"They are located beneath the mountain, master."

Horde Prime opened his hands and sent a thunderous blast into the floor. The whole mountain quaked as the blast journeyed to the bottom.

Below, in the prison cell, the ceiling exploded, sending King Hiss and Hordak across the room. Horde Prime and Inspector Darkney floated down.

"Dear brother . . ." rumbled Horde Prime. "Good to see you again."

Hordak attempted to struggle as Horde Prime neared, but it was worthless. King Hiss, on the other hand, shed his human form and leapt towards Horde Prime.

"I will not see this world destroyed!" shouted Hiss.

Darkney intercepted Hiss and stabbed him with an energy prod. Hiss fell immediately. "Eternia was always ours to conquer, you buffoon. Your time is over."

Horde Prime placed his hands on Hordak's forehead. "Let me know your secret, little brother."

* * *

The flagship of the Horde fleet was awash in small explosions as the Starship Eternia lead the attack against it. Hydron shook his head in frustration.

"We're barely even scratching it," he grumped. "They picked too many of us off while we were powerless."

A sudden alarm caught Flipshot's attention. He turned to a nearby sensor read-out. "We've got a problem."

"What is it?"

"That anomaly that Man-At-Arms was reading? It's moving this way."

A monitor clicked on, displaying the anomaly. It appeared like a bright star, moving closer and closer, shining brilliantly. And then, oddly, the star began to break up and formed into smaller star-like objects. But the star-like light on those objects soon began to dim and formed into ships.

Horde ships.

Over 800 Horde ships, heading straight for the fleet.

"Horde Prime had reinforcements the whole time!" shouted Flipshot.

Hydron looked over read-out. "They're arming weapons!"

Just then, much to everyone's shock, the Horde ships didn't turn on the Primus and alien vessels. No. They opened fire on the Horde flagship, the small explosion suddenly growing larger, busting the hull all over.

"We're getting a transmission from the OTHER Horde flagship," Flipshot announced.

"Let's see it."

A monitor displayed the interior of the newly arrived Horde flagship. On it was none other than Prince Zed, son of Horde Prime. He was wearing a golden Horde armor, his dark hair now long and running over his pointed ears.

"Forces of Primus and those opposed to the old Horde Empire," Zed began with a smirk. "The NEW Horde is here to help. The old ways have ended. We are the next order. Now . . . where is my father?"

Smiling, Hydron fed Zed the coordinates as the former Horde flagship shuddered and exploded.

* * *

Teela watched in shock as the teleportals dissolved. Horde Troopers then began to shut down completely and fell to the ground. The remaining Bat-Mechs died out and crashed to the ground. Teela turned to her father and smiled.

"It's over!" she shouted.

He shook his head and looked the mountain, where an eerie green light was glowing. "Not yet."

* * *

Hordak felt his entire life slipping away as his brother boared through his mind. Images swirled together and it was if Hordak was drowning in a sea of sensations and memories. King Hiss . . . the Sword of Deception . . . Etheria . . . Adora . . . Eternia . . . the seventy other worlds he had conquered . . . the Council of Elders . . . his father, Master Nova, the founder of the Horde . . .

"Stop thinking of our father!" screeched Horde Prime. "Think of the spell!"

Blood dripped Hordak's nose, eyes and ears. Horde Prime continued his mental probe. He gargled something, but it was inaudible.

"Sire, the stress you're putting on his brain. You're killing him."

"Then he'll die! It doesn't matter any more!" shouted Horde Prime.

Hordak gasped at what he saw and heard then. She-Ra leapt down and kicked Horde Prime in the face. Horde Prime stumbled backwards, his hands coming off of Hordak's head, his mind being pulled out. She-Ra slammed her fist in Horde Prime's gut.

"No one else dies tonight!" she shouted. She-Ra spun around and kicked Horde Prime in the face, causing the former conqueror to fall.

Darkney pulled out a weapon aimed it right at She-Ra. A tan hand suddenly came upon it and crushed it. He-Man smiled and punched the inspector out.

"This is not over!" yelled Horde Prime.

He blasted both He-Man and She-Ra, sending them against the wall. Horde Prime then unfolded his wings, snatched up Hordak and flew up the tunnel and onto the surface. He-Man and She-Ra ran to the elevator, which was still running amazingly well, and set it go up on maximum speed.

Horde Prime grabbed Hordak by the neck and began to squeeze. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" Horde Prime shouted. "ALL OF THIS IS YOUR FAULT! IF YOU HADN'T LET ETHERIA SLIP THROUGH YOUR FINGERS, THE HORDE WOULD STILL BE WHOLE AND MIGHTY! IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Hordak rasped for air. When She-Ra saw him, a strange sensation flowed through her. This man had raised her, no matter what the circumstances. She-Ra leapt forward and slid her sword through Horde Prime's arm. Hordak fell and Horde Prime screeched as blood poured from his open wound.

"It has ended, Horde Prime," He-Man stated. "Your Troopers are down, the Dark Riders and Morgoth have been banished. It's over."

"Indeed," said Zed, who approached now. "Father, I have destroyed your precious ship. I'm taking you back to the Horde World, where you will stand trail for the crimes you committed against countless worlds."

"You can not do this, Zed! I am your father! I am your blood!"

"Blood means nothing, dear brother . . ." Hordak said, standing up and turning fast towards Horde Prime.

She-Ra stood locked in place as Hordak's good arm transformed into a gun. Explosions from the gun cracked through the air. Small explosions struck Horde Prime's chest and stomach, spilling even more blood from his body.

Horde Prime then fell to the ground, blood flowing freely from his dead body.

He-Man rammed into Hordak and held him as he was dragged back towards the prison and hopefully into his cell. Hordak called back though, to She-Ra.

"I did that for you, Adora! I DID THAT FOR YOU! HE WAS EVIL! HE NEEDED TO BE STOPPED! I DID THAT FOR YOU!" he screamed as He-Man and a number of others pulled him to the prison. "WHY COULDN'T I HAVE HAD A BROTHER LIKE YOURS!? WHY COULDN'T I HAVE A FAMILY LIKE YOURS?!"

She-Ra slammed her eyes close, Hordak's words stinging like a whip. Tears threatened to come out, but she prevented them from doing so. Instead, she returned to business.

"Zed," she began. "I'm sorry."

He breathed deeply. "Oh, it's alright, I suppose. He would have been executed anyways. Still though . . . he was my father . . ."

"A good Horde Empire, huh?" asked She-Ra, continuing to block out her tears.

Zed attempted a smile. "Worth a shot, huh?"


	11. Epilogue

Epilogue

* * *

Adora walked out of deserted Crystal Castle and right to the edge of the mountain. She placed the Sword of Protection onto the ground in front of her and looked out upon the black landscape that held her world in suspended animation. Light-Hope was busy working to free this world, but Adora suddenly wish it wasn't and that Light-Hope was here to offer her kind words. Or Angella. Or Kowl. Or Frosta.

Heck, at this point, she'd even take Madame Razz or Broom!

She wasn't sure just how to feel, to be honest. Hordak . . . for years she had known him as a such a strong father-figure. Despite the spell she was under, she couldn't deny those feelings from years ago. And maybe, to some obvious extent, those feelings were still there. Adora sighed, really not knowing how to feel.

He killed for her? Because Horde Prime was evil, he was supposed to die? For her? As a gift. It made the most sense, she supposed. Maybe Hordak had come to some sort of realization. Maybe he was making up for being so evil all his life - perhaps this was his redemption. And his wish that things could have been better.

Adora laid back onto the ground and looked up into the blue sky. She had heard that the Sorceress had helped out during the battle. Adam still wasn't speaking to her, but Adora was going to take yet another shot at talking to her about the missing races.

* * *

A new treaty had been signed this morning, creating a non-aggression pact with the Kobloids, the Bats, and the Kingdoms of Men and their allies. So far, no incidents. Adora felt better, and laid alone on the mountain until she felt rested enough to continue the good fight.

Orko kissed Dree-Ell one more time before she entered the transport and left Eternia. They had their own responsibilities to go. Orko's were here, helping the royal family rebuild. And Dree-Ell's were on Trolla, helping to recover after the war. They promised to see each other as soon as they could.

Adam gave Mara a hug, wishing her luck on her return to Primus. He then offered his good journey's to the Galactic Guardians and the scientists.

"Tell Master Sebrian I miss wise consuel," Adam said.

Flipshot smiled and smacked Adam on the shoulder. "I will. Good bye, Adam."

"Good journey, Flipshot, Mara."

The pair entered the Starship Eternia. Hydron shook Adam's hand. "Take care of yourself, King Adam. We'll try and keep in touch." Adam smiled and said good bye.

Finally, Rokkon and Stonedar met up with Adam. Adam cleared his throat. "You saved my life," he said.

"As I told you," Rokkon explained. "Our loyalty is yours."

"We did it in your service," Stonedar continued. "Despite what we had done, we always have and always will follow you."

Adam nodded. "That counts for something, I guess. You saved my life and you did indeed serve me loyally. So . . . Eternos shall always greet you with friendship. But I have you know, I will get to bottom of this. If there's anything more you can tell me . . ."

"We've told you all we know," Rokkon answered.

"We didn't even know half of what you did," Stonedar followed up.

"And if you did know everything - would you have done things differently?"

Rokkon and Stonedar looked to each other, unsure of the answer. "I don't know," Rokkon replied. "But it doesn't matter now. What does matter now is not what happened in the past, but what happens in the future."

"Words to live by," Stonedar stated.

Adam took a breath, realizing it was that same kind of talk that probably got the pair into this mess. "Well . . . whatever happens, happens. You two, farewell and good journey."

"Good journey."

"Farewell."

The pair walked off then and joined with the final transport. A moment later, it took off and followed the rest of the fleet as they all left the solar system.

Adam paused in thought, and then smiled. This whole mess was over with now. All of the aliens were gone. And thanks to the new Horde and the Primians, the prison was back up and running, with both King Hiss and Hordak secure inside. The treaty had been signed, uniting - to a certain extent - the peoples of Eternia.

There was still much to face . . . the eventual trial of Hiss and Hordak, the missing kingdoms and races, the search for his parents, Zodak's manipulation . . . but Adam felt as though he could handle it. As Adam walked through the Palace, he felt his body grow tired, but his faith grow stronger. With the help of the scientists, they were a little closer to getting his parents back.

Adam entered into his chambers and let out a sigh of relief. He felt better. He felt better than he had since the defeat of Hordak. And despite all that still laid before him and all the things that he learned, it all felt easier to handle.

"Hey there, king . . ." a female voice cooed from his bedchamber.

Adam walked to the bedchamber's entrance and smiled at the sight before him. Teela lay there in a red robe with white furry trimming. On her head was a Santa Claus hat.

"Merry Christmas," she said with a cute smile.

Adam chuckled and sat down next to her. He took the woman into his arms. "Merry Christmas," he replied, kissing her forehead. "I'm surprised you remembered."

"Me? Of course not," answered Teela. "The way your Mother used to go on about the Earth holiday, I don't think I could ever forget."

Nodding, Adam moved forward and took her into his arms. "I love you," he confessed, the words holding more impact than any other time before.

"I love you too," she returned, her voice carrying the wonderful words to him.

They pulled back, and moved forward to kiss. Together, they kissed and held each other underneath the stars, safe from the dangers around them, huddled in loving arms.

THE SAGA CONTINUES IN "THE SHROUD OF THE HORDE!" NOW REVISED AND EDITED TO FIT THE NEW CONTINUNITY!


End file.
